Konayuki no Yaiba
by Sarudoshi
Summary: [title - "Blades of Snowfall"] / after almost a century of hiding emotions behind protective walls, can it be possible for love to blossom between a captain and his subordinate...? 3rd Person POV/ Main OC's Perspective/ rated for pg-13 lang, possible smut and action scenes/ ByaOC, light RanOC and possible IchiRuki/ R&R please \\
1. Heretic

_Bleach in its entirety is copyright to Tite Kubo / my characters belong to me (WhiteWolf 02/03 2014)_

* * *

_**Heretic**_

* * *

The loud roar of the masked beast hummed in the air, scaring what wits were left of the surprised unseated officers that appeared to be dumbfounded at how large the beast was.

A thin cut, about a hair's width, came up from the top of the large face that looked like a boar's, ripping swiftly down to the chin diagonally, surprising the group clad in black.

"Really now, was all that noise so necessary?"

The hollow's body crumpled in half as it hit the ground, disintegrating into _reishi_ particles that faded into the air; calmly sheathing her katana, the beast's murderer exhaled and turned her gaze to the unranked members of her squad.

Concentrated frown melting from her brow, her blue eyes turned empathetic, "is everyone all right?"

"T-third seat Akatsuki!" One of the group, a timid brunette that looked fresh from the Academy, piped up first, bowing ashamedly infront of the higher-ranked officer, "I believe I speak for the group when I apologize to you for forcing your hand to slay such a weak hollow!" He declared loudly, perking her ears.

"**Please forgive us, Lady Akatsuki**!" The remainder of the group echoed as they also bowed, earning a sweatdrop from her.

She scritched her right cheek sheepishly and chuckled, "seriously, it's no trouble! I don't have any beef with you lot, just with the noise that hollow was making." She smiled lightly. "Given that there are no more hollows within the area, your patrol shift is done; head back to the Sixth Division Headquarters, all of you." She announced.

"**Thank you, Third seat Akatsuki**!" The group barked their gratitude before leaving the small clearing and making their way back to their squad's barracks.

Smiling slightly after them, she glanced at the rising sun's rays of light that broke through the trees around her and huffed, shrugging the sheathed zanpakutō over her left shoulder and _shun-po_'ing after the rest of the party.

* * *

After being in the Sixth Division for the better half of a century, she still hated morning hollow slayings.

'_It deprives you of beauty sleep!_' So said her best friend –that inadvertently happened to be more endowed than she was, but that was an issue for another day and another round of _sake_.

Shaking her head softly, she was shaken from her thoughts when noting that the atmosphere in the barracks was slightly off-key; brow furrowing slightly, she sidestepped a lower-ranked member rushing past her to the gates of the headquarters that led to the rest of the Seireitei.

"What's going on…?" She muttered, perking up when almost having a head-on collision with another low-ranked member, said boy skidding to a halt short of crashing into her. "Oi, watch where you're going… Oh, it's you, Rikichi-kun; what's going on with everyone? They keep running out into the Seireitei… Don't tell me Renji told a bad joke or something like that." She half-joked, meeting the black-haired boy's brown eyes with a raised brow.

Their lieutenant's number-one-fan looked up from rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "Haven't you heard, Akatsuki-chan? The squads are on red alert because of an invasion; some _ryoka_ have infiltrated the Soul Society and are somewhere within the Seireitei! Captain Kuchiki and Abarai-kun have sent most of the squads out to find and arrest the _ryoka_."

She frowned slightly but nodded anyway with a half-sigh, "right, I guess I'd better go find Kuchiki-Taichō. Is he out or is he still here?" She wondered of him.

Rikichi nodded back, "he's still here, I think; not as adept at sensing _reiatsu_, but I don't think I've seen him leave." He informed.

Smiling again, she turned away to go find her captain.

::::::::x-x::::::::

"Taichō?"

The black-haired nobleman with serious gray eyes looked at the door to his office from having been observing the rising sun and keeping his senses keened on the members of his division he'd sent out on the hunt, meeting her familiar blue eyes that often reminded him of clear skies.

Blank mask faltering minutely at feeling elated that she had returned safely from her early-morning slaying, Kuchiki Byakuya turned slightly to address his oldest friend. "Kita, I had wondered if you'd returned successful from your duty this morning; it went well, I suppose." He mused in that calm low voice of his, gray meeting blue.

Akatsuki Kita nodded and smiled slightly, hesitating to walk further into his office should he have her deployed to join the hunt. "Yeah, it went swimmingly. I heard on the wind that _ryoka_ have invaded the Seireitei. Did you want I go as well? I can't sense Renji's _reiatsu_ in the barracks, so I'm guessing he was sent out already." She asked with a slight tilt of her head, dark black strands shifting with her gesture.

"Ah, yes; that. Half of the squads have been ordered to find and arrest the invaders and Renji has joined them as of a few hours ago, given that he was dismissed early from a lieutenant's meeting last night." His business-like mask shifted into a slightly challenging smirk at his old friend, "I assume you didn't waste your energy slaying hollow, so I'm sending you out there as well. Think you can handle it?" He wondered.

She blinked before a small smirk formed on her lips, spreading when she scoffed quietly. "Low-leveled hollow are all the same, they're not worth wasting my shikai plus kidō skills on; so yes, I can handle it!" She answered confidently.

Byakuya nodded and flashed a tiny smile at hearing that confident tone in her voice he had hoped to hear, gray eyes strangely compassionate (as they often were when he looked on the woman he'd known since they were children). "Spoken like a true member of the Sixth Division. Search for the _ryoka_ and arrest them, and only draw your zanpakutō if necessary. Understood?" He ordered.

"You got it!" Kita saluted him lazily, smirking before turning about to exit the office; she paused with a hand on the doorknob, "oi, and don't go hogging all the fun if you run into one of them too… Byakuya." She added with a wide smirk over her shoulder at him, meeting his gray eyes again; she winked and chuckled, slipping out of the office and leaving him to his thoughts.

Byakuya shook his head softly, hearing her footsteps recede and fade away as she had fled the corridor leading to his office, looking out at the dawn with a faint smile on his lips.

"Be careful out there, Kita."

* * *

**A/N**: yeah, i know, you lot must be getting tired of seeing me post revised/rewritten Bleach fics.. i'm hoping this fic kicks off better than the previous ones have. as a note, this one is also going along the manga plot, given that i have most of the volumes that cover arcs with Soul Society involved (actually, last i checked, it's almost thirty.. and i haven't even gotten the final arc volumes yet! 0: irony! lol). i kind of tweaked with my OCs and their abilities so they'd seem a bit more badass than in the past.

umm anyway, let me know what you think in a **review**; reviews make the world go 'round and give me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside = 3= lol anyway, next chap should be in soon.

'til then, ja ne! (':

***Heretic - Takahito Eguchi (Trinity Blood OST)**


	2. Dog Star

**_Dog Star_**

* * *

"…I know, a secret path to that tower."

"Well good! It saves me the trouble of finding you invaders."  
The trio of males whirled about sharply to meet the blank scowl on her brow.

One of them, the one that seemed to be the only good-looking one present, with bright orange hair and brown eyes shouldering a large butcher's-blade zanpakutō on his back dressed in a _shihakushō_, blinked once; his surprised stare shifted into a scowl of unease as he lifted a hand to the bandage-wrapped hilt of his weapon.

The woman with clear blue eyes and neck-length wavy dark black hair that only looked to be five-four clad in a black _shihakushō_ raised a hand to the hilt of a katana shrugged onto her left shoulder, slender fingers gripping the red-clothed hilt. "Turn yourselves in now and I won't cut you down." She ordered in a frosty tone.

"And just who the hell're you to order us around like that?" The orange-haired boy rebutted; _her _reiatsu_, it's like Ikkaku's, but it's way stronger than his was_, he mused grimly, noting he'd have to divert her somehow so he could continue on his mission.

"Akatsuki Kita, third seat of Sixth Division." She answered.

The second male dressed in a _shihakushō_ perked up and then scrambled forward, "W-wait just a second! You said you were from the Sixth Division? I'm from Fourth, Yamada Hanatarō!" He piped up, perking her ears and stalling a possible duel.

She blinked. "Fourth Division; what the hell are you doing, aiding these guys, Yamada-san? They're _ryoka_, in case you haven't noticed." She asked.

Yamada explained to her the circumstances behind his current position, briefly mentioning a squabble with some of the meatheads from Eleventh Division, before finishing on the point that '_and this is where the story ends_.'

Soaking it in, she nodded, noting the boy in the _shihakush_ō –whom he'd dubbed as Kurosaki Ichigo—had calmed his stance and was keeping an eye on her –out of caution, if she had to guess. "Fair enough."

"So you're not gonna attack us?" The second _ryoka_ wearing a strange outfit –whom he'd also dubbed as Shiba Ganju—asked of her, perking her ears.

Kita straightened to her feet and dusted her pants off. "Not if what Yamada-san says is true, then I won't turn you two in. I… I've met her before, Rukia; she's the sister-in-law of my old friend, Kuchiki Byakuya, and she doesn't deserve such a fate. You've got balls to come in here and to have caused such a stir in the Seireitei," she looked to the brown eyes of the Kurosaki boy, holding his stare for a second, "but I've got to give you credit for it, as odd as that may seem. If you don't mind, I'll help with what I can, to save Rukia." Her blue eyes turned soft, empathetic and compassionate all-in-one.

Ichigo raised both brows. "You will?" He calmed and then nodded, smiling a little. "Thank you, for not turning us in, Akatsuki-san." He straightened to look at the seventh seat. "Okay, Yamada, lead the way."

"It's Kita." She corrected calmly, trodding forward to walk at his side. "Strawberry."

A mixture of annoyance and embarrassment appeared in his handsome face; he snorted and cut his gaze to the side. "Shut up!" He pretended she didn't snicker quietly at embarrassing him.

* * *

_Did the Seireitei always look this intimidating from the outside?  
_  
Shaking her head slightly, she felt relief at finally being out of the confines of the underground sub-tunnels, or as Ganju bluntly called them, "_the shit-smell factory_"… He wasn't far off the mark with that one.

"We're close, but it sure looks intimidating… Think it's gonna get tougher from here on." The aforementioned man mused aloud, stirring her from her thoughts.

As she made to spout a sarcastic remark, a familiar _reiatsu_ jerked her attention away and towards the base of the stairwell that led higher towards the rest of the Seireitei's white-walled towers and buildings.

Her fingers lifted to grasp onto the hilt of her zanpakutō as she felt a small sliver of fear race up her spine when recognizing just _who_ the _reiatsu_ belonged to.

This didn't go amiss with her fellow Shinigami, particularly the orange-haired strawberry.

"What's up, Ichigo?" The younger Shiba asked when his friend lifted a hand to stay his words.

His brown eyes narrowed. "There's somebody on the steps." He answered lowly as a breeze blew past them, clearing the fog that surrounded the bottom of the stairwell.

'_Shit_.' Her zanpakutō growled softly in the back of her mind as she recognized the shock of red hair atop the awaiting party's head, the black visor-shades on the top of his forehead that covered the widow's peak of his hairline.

"It's been a long time; do you remember me?" The lieutenant of Sixth Division drawled.

Ichigo glared at him, recalling the fateful evening that his world had been turned upside-down a second time within two months. "Abarai Renji." He ground out.

::::::::x-x::::::::

_I can't believe I'm doing this_.

Narrowing her eyes on his slight stagger in his walk, she drew her zanpakutō and uttered a '_tch_'. "This dumbass-strawberry better be worth it, Rukia." She mused under her breath, spiriting forward into the fray.

"Kita, come back!" Ganju barked behind her.

"_Bakudō 37: Tsuriboshi!_" A wide blue webbing-net caught the descending jagged blades of his shikai-transformed _Zabimaru_, surprising both combatants, before the air froze at the back of the lieutenant's neck.

Narrowly dodging the would-be blow, Renji reappeared yards away from his intended target, glaring at the caster of the mid-level _Bakudō_, the jagged blades retracting to his zanpakutō's hilt. "That was a dirty trick!" He called.

"So was delivering a killing blow to a novice Shinigami." Kita remarked blandly, shouldering her zanpakutō onto her left shoulder. "Surely you learned better parlor tricks while training to be one rank above me, Renji." She added.

W_hy the hell is she aiding that brat? Doesn't she know the consequences for treason?_ He growled slightly under his breath and snorted, glancing to see the orange-haired Shinigami had been ogling her in amazement and shock, before he returned his gaze to the woman that was not only a hell of a kidō expert in their squad but was also his captain's oldest friend (and possible love interest, if he dared dance towards getting himself killed by said captain). "Still sore about that, are you? Don't tell me _that_'s the reason you're helping that bastard you just protected; he **was** the one responsible for stealing Rukia's powers, y'know." He demanded harshly.

She huffed, "that's bullshit. Even if he was the one responsible, he's still tryin' to make amends and save her from what the Central 46 have sentenced her with… You **did** deliver her here, if you also recall." She snapped cattily.

A nerve was hit, rippling down his spine and making his grip on his zanpakutō's hilt tighten. "Don't you dare blame me; remember your place, Third Seat!" He snarled.

She glared at him, her _reiatsu_ spiking with her growing annoyance. "'My place', huh? Need I remind you, Abarai Renji, that you don't own me!?" Flicking her wrist she sent a wordless _Shakkahō_ flying at him, narrowly missing as he _shun-po_'d out of the way and reappeared overhead.

With a grunt, he swung the jagged blades of _Zabimaru_ down onto her head.

"_Rip, Kuroyaibira!_" Kita commanded, _reiatsu_ spiking further as she dodged it at the last second and swung her shortened blade up at him on an extended black chain, sparks flying when the blades glanced off each other and her zanpakutō's blade retracted down onto the hilt as if on a chord.

Renji skyrocketed down to clash with her, _Zabimaru_ colliding with _Kuroyaibira_ and locking as both second and third seats of the Sixth Division came to blows, disengaging and then locking, repeating the motion for another few bouts.

Finally shoving against him to propel herself away, she skidded back into the ground on her heels, panting slightly, with slight nicks in her skin that wasn't covered by the pale gray wrist guard and gloves on her hands.

Even though she felt slightly tired from squabbling with him, she could still topple him with just kidō if she felt like cheating; but she wasn't that kind of girl.

"So what was that shit about 'parlor tricks'?" He wondered blandly from several yards away.

Wiping a smudge of blood from her right cheek, she huffed and lowered her zanpakutō, gripping the hilt lightly. "Given that you suck at kidō, you're the one who should learn from a master!" She flew forward and dodged the extended blades of _Zabimaru_, leaping overhead. "_Hadō 33: __**Sōkatsui**__!_" A wide jet of blue fire screamed down at him, causing a large cloud of smoke to rise up as she landed nimbly a good several yards away, flicking her wrist to sheathe her zanpakutō.

Although she hadn't expected him to drop dead from her mid-level kidō spell, she didn't expect what came next.

A white-hot jolt of pain erupted down her right shoulder, making her grimace and feel the air swiftly follow the retracting blade that had ripped into her skin and torn her _shihakushō_; she raised a hand to grip her shoulder tightly, turning a little to see the smoke clearing.

Blood dripped freely from her shoulder and hit the ground beneath her as she saw the burn-marks from her kidō, the bottom half of his right sleeve ripped off to show the tattoos on his arm; his brown eyes glared hard at her.

"As if you have what it takes to save her; you're afraid of what the captain will say or do when he finds out his oldest friend has gone and defied his rule." Sunlight glinted from the blades of _Zabimaru_ that he lifted high when he went for a critical blow from the sky, "Admit it, Kita!" He exclaimed.

_Am… Am I really afraid…? Of Byakuya?_

A loud '_klang_' rang out in the morning air.

* * *

**A/N**: all right, our heroine finally gets a chance to kick ass! lol hah i know, i'm a nerd. deal with it. xD anywho, i forgot to mention in the previous A/N, if you lot srsly don't understand half of the terminology from the Bleach universe, check out the series' Wikia page. it's really resourceful, no lie. the other terminology used/ going to be used in the future chapters is just the basic honorifics used in Japanese culture. some of the terms i had to look up while looking for ref so don't feel like a lone ranger if you need to dig up reference for some of the stuff. _/had no idea that Nujabes' music was great influence for writing_

ja ne!

*oh yea, feel free to **review**. i won't harp on it, all i ask is for some simple feedback, praise even if i'm asking for a miracle. but nah, reviews enough are love so feel free to drop one. ^^

** Ichigo's name has two meanings: 01) **One Being/ One Person** (i think.. it's been a while since i've looked up his name.. 0: )/ 02) **Strawberry** (: ((if my first translation is off, feel free to correct me! ^^))


	3. Inori

_**Inori**_

* * *

He straightened from tending to her shoulder, "there, all finished!"

"Thanks, Hanatarō-kun." She nodded and shrugged her sleeve back on, standing to her feet; she looked over at the ends of the battle and focused her eyes on the blood-stained men, particularly the red-haired lieutenant that had fisted a hand in the scruff of the orange-haired boy's _shihakush_ō, her gaze soft in empathy. "Renji."

"…I've never been good enough, to beat Captain Kuchiki. I've trained every day, but to no avail; he's just too good… I'm not strong enough to save her! …Kurosaki, I'm asking you… knowing that I'm shaming myself… save her: save Rukia!" He rasped desperately with his head bowed as if in plea, deepening the sad look on her brow.

Briefly shocked that he had been asked that by the man who'd tried to kill him on two accounts, his brown eyes sombered and his face took on a likewise-sad expression that matched hers. "I will."

A soft breeze blew past the battle-infused damage of the stone area as his grip lessened until he collapsed, from exhaustion of both his physical form and his mental as well if she had to guess.

It wasn't long before the victor also fell from preferably the same symptoms, surprising both of his male companions as they rushed forward to his side; she followed and crouched next to the two redheads.

She surveyed the broken _Zabimaru_ still clutched in hand and tutted quietly, sighing. "Geez, Renji…" _You did the honorable thing in passing along the torch to him; thank you for not killing him_, she thought with a tiny smile.

"Someone's coming! Three… no four, or five, maybe…!" Hanatarō barked, perking her ears.

Ganju shouldered an unconscious Ichigo over his shoulder, "we don't want company right now; retreat! Take us somewhere quiet!" He declared impatiently.

Kita followed their line of sight and furrowed her brow slightly, thinking of a plan, "both of you get moving; keep him safe until his wounds mend. I'll stay with Renji." She instructed calmly, earning both sets of eyes to look at her.

"E-eh? But Kita…" Hanatarō began.

"You're nuts!" Ganju finished.

She shook her head. "Just go, I'll explain things as best I can to them; get moving, the both of you!" She ordered sharply, scowling at them and hoping to imitate her captain as best as possible when he was stern about something.

Briefly hesitating, both men turned about to rush away to find a way back to the sub-tunnels as she straightened, hearing the group that was most likely a relief unit coming closer. "Get back here you bastards!" She shouted as a way of making it seem genuine, shaking her fist.

"Third Seat Akatsuki!" She slightly jumped before looking over her shoulder to meet the aqua-blue eyes of the lieutenant of the Third Division, Kira Izuru. "Explain yourself." He ordered, keeping the air of not only one of Renji's old friends but also the authoritative air of a lieutenant of the Gotei 13.

Kita bowed her head slightly and straightened as a few of the men from his group rushed past her to tend to the felled lieutenant, "Kira-kun, please forgive me, I tried to stop the _ryoka_ from defeating Renji, but well…" She faltered as his eyes glanced at the rip on her sleeve, a sign that she'd intervened –or rather, tried to.

His sharp authoritative expression faltered when noting that she had acted honorable in aiding her comrade and higher-ranked officer, nodding. "It's all right, Akatsuki." His greenish-blue eyes calmed. "Thank you for aiding him…"

"Lieutenant Kira, it looks like they've fled; should we chase after them?" One of the other men in his group asked as he came forward.

Kira glanced briefly at the third seat that was rubbing her bum arm's wrist gingerly and looking to the felled lieutenant that was being inspected and shook his head, his eyes sombering. "No, saving Renji is our priority right now." He looked at her again. "Kita, do you need your arm tended to?"

Briefly surprised that he addressed her by her first name, Kita shook her head. "No, it's fine; it's not as damaged as you think." Her eyes softened slightly, "thank you though, Kira-kun." She walked behind him when they had gathered Renji on a gurney and making their way to the stairwell.

Glancing back briefly, she looked to the clear blue color of the sky. _Ichigo, be careful; I know I don't know you well enough, but I do know that from here on it's only going to be tougher._

_Don't be late in saving her you dumbass_.

* * *

"… Defeat was not an option. We have no use for beaten fools, now take this wretch away." The wood quietly creaked beneath his footing, a sign he was preparing to depart (to his office, if she had to guess).

A quiet 'wait' was uttered, "Wait! T-that's no way to speak of…!" _Bad idea, Hinamori-chan_.

"Be quiet!" A second voice hissed to shush the Fifth Division lieutenant's outburst, belonging to Kira Izuru.  
"I-Izuru…" She began.

A rustling of robes as they both bowed respectively, "We apologize, sir!" Kira again.

"I-I'm sorry, sir…" Hinamori Momo again, forced to shut up.

The floorboards creaked again as he took his leave.  
She slid open an eye as he reached a few feet away from the doorway. "That was pretty cold, Taichō." She noted, perking his ears.

_So she's getting better at cloaking her _reiatsu_ after all_, he thought, huffing and continuing on his way, her softer footsteps shadowing his own until she was at his side. "It's only right; he **did** charge recklessly into a one-on-one with the _ryoka_. Being confined is a fitting punishment for his actions." He countered calmly.

Akatsuki Kita wasn't blind to note the slight ruffle in his feathers, preferably to his second-in-command's being felled in combat; if anything, she knew him well, his emotional state half as well as his fighting expertise. _Okay too well, sometimes_…

"How's your shoulder?" Byakuya asked, perking her ears.

She blinked and looked up at him, noting his gray gaze was glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. _Damn, I forgot to change my _shihakushō. "E-eh? Oh that! Um, well…" She rubbed her bum arm's wrist gingerly.

His gray eyes squinted slightly. "You fought as well." He knew she wasn't so much of a klutz to have her shoulder ripped open so the theory that she had joined in on the squabble seemed the most reasonable option at the moment, given that she fidgeted slightly under his stare.

Kita silently gulped and exhaled, staring forward. "By the time I got to the scene, there wasn't much I could do to help, except take a minor blow from the _ryoka_ in order for Renji to retreat; being the chivalrous idiot that he is, he ended up with the injuries you saw and forced me out of the fight." She kept her gaze away from his even though she felt his eyes boring holes into her temple. "Sorry, Taichō." She mentally bit her lip; _great, now the lie's bigger… Will he see right through it? And if he does, will he have me locked up, too?_

Byakuya's frown deepened; _that sounds reasonable enough, but still_… "It wasn't your fault." _Not entirely, anyway_. "You did what you thought was best." He glanced up at the moon beginning to come out, the sun's last light bowing reluctantly to the oncoming white orb that appeared to be a crescent tonight. "Don't be so reckless, next time." He added, perking her ears.

She nodded and lowered her gaze, rubbing her wrist again. "Yes, Captain."

The rest of their walk was silent; most of the barracks had been vacated, a sign the squads that had been sent out had yet to return, therefore leaving the headquarters basically dead of life.

They were virtually alone.

_I wonder if Ichigo is doing okay, hopefully Hanatar_ō_-kun healed his injuries_, she thought, noting they had come to a literal fork in the road, the corridor leading to his office down one way, and the sleeping quarters down the other.

She felt her cheeks color slightly before inwardly shaking her head to banish the thought away; _no way! He's my captain now, it's off limits! And besides, for all I know he still mourns that Rukōngai woman after she passed so long ago, given that she WAS his first wife and all…_

'_**I do love you, I've always loved you… But my loving you has hurt you, and I won't hurt you. I don't want to**_.'

Sensing something slightly amiss beneath the surface, he glanced down at her, vaguely wondering just what was going on inside that head of hers. "Aren't you going to retire for the night?" He wondered, making her jump slightly, earning a curious look from him.

"O-oh, right! Yeah, I'm pretty tired… Talk tomorrow, Taichō; 'night!" She yelped, offering a slightly-cheeky wave before trodding on to the sleeping quarters.

Once she was in her room she slammed the door shut, heaving a sigh of relief as her back rested against the wood. "Damn it, what was that back there?" She muttered, partly sliding her eyes open to stare up at the ceiling.

Still feeling slightly harried because of the little trip down memory lane she'd taken, she decided to wash away the feelings with a good shower and, given that the barracks were virtually vacant of life, she did just that.

"Much better," Kita sighed as she ruffled her damp hair with the towel, tying the sash of the sleeping robe tight at her waist as she exited the shower stall that had been installed just for higher-ranking officers like her, crossing the hall back to her room and closing the door.

She looked at the door behind her and furrowed her brow slightly as she backtracked to what he'd told her so many years ago, about how he didn't want to hurt her by giving her false hope of being with him.

Kita snorted, a habit she picked up from her brother, rifling through her closet for her cleaning kit and plopping down on the mattress with her zanpakutō in hand, beginning to clean the blade. "Who needs him? He's not worth it; he's not worth the tears… Stupid, arrogant, conceited jerk…"

'_Who is also the stupid conceited jerk you loved at one point, and still do, apparently_.' The calm and patient voice of her zanpakutō sounded at her side, perking her ears as she looked at the transparent entity.

_Kuroyaibira_ had come to her a few months prior to her graduation from the Shino Academy, passive-aggressive yet wondering why her _reiatsu_ had called out to her, and with time she had spent in the Third Division prior to being transferred to Sixth, she and _Kuroyaibira_ had become not only a solid team in combat but also close friends, closer than she felt towards her older brother, and Rangiku, and even Byakuya. Their _reiatsu_ were one in the same, and because of that closeness she had also achieved her bankai ten years ago, training day in and day out to better master her zanpakutō's true –and more powerful—form.

The wolf-demon entity with a shaggy mane of hair and tanned skin donning a short red kimono with black orchids on the gray obi around her middle sat there calmly with her legs crossed, an elbow on her right knee keeping her right hand's palm supporting her cheek; she lifted a thin brow at her mistress. '_Or am I wrong?_'

Feeling her cheeks burn, Kita snorted again and only scrubbed harder at the middle part of the blunt-edge of the katana, ignoring the smug smirk that played at her zanpakutō's lips. "Don't be so smug." She snapped cattily.

Pleased at gaining her footing, the entity rolled her yellow wolf eyes. '_You've given him enough time to grieve for that woman, so what exactly is stopping you? Aside from the plainly obvious restrictions regarding your status in the Gotei 13_.' The smug look melted to be replaced with a slightly empathetic frown. '_Don't tell me you're afraid, just like that Abarai fool said you were… Are you, Kita?_' She slightly softened her tone.

"**_I'm not afraid_**_!_" She shot back, her voice risen to a shout, slightly spooking herself at being so loud, seeing the entity blink once as her likewise-black wolf ears twitched atop her head; flushing slightly, she scowled at the transparent being. "I'm not afraid of him, I never have been, even when he was promoted to captain and even after… even after that day." She lowered her gaze slightly, chewing her bottom lip on a subconscious habit. "It's not him; it's never been him… I… I'm just afraid of getting my heart broken a second time in my entire existence, Kuro. I don't want to push him away, gods know I don't want that. But I don't want to get hurt again, either… Kuro, I'm so confused…" She slid her eyes closed tight and lowered her head, gritting her teeth.

'_Kita-sama_…' She placed a hand on her shoulder gently.

A knock sounded on the door, perking her ears. "Kita?" She looked up alertly as her zanpakutō's entity faded from sight, recognizing that voice anywhere; _speak of the devil_, she mused grimly, straightening and sheathing her zanpakutō, putting it on her mattress and shuffling to answer the door.

::::::::x-x::::::::

'…_I don't want to push him away, but I don't want to get hurt again, either… I'm so confused_…'

His brow furrowed even as his heart sank a degree into his ribcage at catching what she whispered to her zanpakutō, leaning against the wall next to her door.

Even though a man of his status shouldn't be mewling at the door of his subordinate –frankly that should be the **_last_** thing he'd ever do while in his right frame of mind—and eavesdropping as she talked to her manifested sword's spirit, Byakuya had sought out the unsettling vibe she'd left him with merely an hour ago as she'd scurried away down the sleeping quarters' corridor and he'd reluctantly returned to his office to file out some last-minute paperwork for the day (er, evening).

He silently shook his head as he mulled over that sentence she'd uttered, the sentence that had made his pride flare up inside his chest, the sentence he probably shouldn't have overheard. _You foolish woman, you're as thick as a brick wall in regards to that topic_, he thought.

He was going to tell her that he still loved her, now more than ever, he was going to be a man and face her and tell her the things he should've told her so many years and so many chances ago, he was going to kiss her silly to prove that he meant what he was going to say…

And so that's what caused him to knock on her door, knowing she was in there –he vainly hoped she wasn't crying.

Above all things, Kuchiki Byakuya loathed to see her shed tears, tears that she rarely let him see, tears that he knew were from the sadness in her heart, the sadness he had caused.

A shuffling behind the door sounded, stirring him from the epiphany, as she slid the door open to greet him; his heart sank another degree at seeing the puffiness swelling in the bottom rims of her eyes, her nose slightly red from premature tears, and he vainly hoped the stoic expression on his face didn't shift into a disapproving frown.

For all he knew, it would make things worse.

"Oh, Byakuya. It's kinda late… Is something wrong?" Kita rubbed her nose gingerly, looking into his slate-gray eyes.

_You have no idea_. "No, nothing is wrong; it occurred to me that you have a report due tomorrow based on the slaying you performed this morning. I just came to remind you." Byakuya answered quietly.

She nodded and mustered a small smile, "right, I'll get to it. Thanks for the reminder." She sniffed quietly, perking his ears.

"Kita," he began again when she started to close the door; she paused and looked up at him in confusion and innocence. _Stop stalling_. "I… I also came to apologize, for what happened."

The door opened a fraction, "why, what happened?" She wondered, the confusion still present.

He inwardly grimaced; _excellent, bringing up __**that**__ issue_. "For what I said, long ago." The confusion melted into recognition, recognition melting into sadness, "I should never have led you on or let you believe the… things, you believed, about us." Her gaze lowered to some spot on the floor by his feet, the puffiness temporarily gone (much to his relief, but then again, he knew she was too stubborn to let him see her tears) from her clear-blue eyes.

Her fingers tightened their grip on the door as her previous conversation with her zanpakutō came to the front, surging like a wave that made her pride flare up and her stubbornness flare just as wildly; she looked up at him with something he could immediately tell was anger and something hidden behind the anger that made him inwardly grimace.

She was trying to be strong.

"It's in the past, right? What happened then is just… just our stupidity. What happened, happened, and all we can do is just forget about it. Now **good**. **night**. Captain Kuchiki." She snapped tartly, stepping back to slam the door shut on him, effectively cutting off any further conversation regarding that topic she refused to speak of.

"Kita," he declared, slightly taken aback that she'd done that to him, trying to open the door but realizing it was jammed from the other side. "Kita…"

"Captain, please, just go away." Her voice was cracking, thick with tears he was to never see, as she fought the rising lump in her throat. "_Please_."

Byakuya glared at the door for a moment that lasted forever it seemed before his shoulders slumped, the element lost the moment she'd snapped at him, his hand at the door panel dropping limply to his side; a quiet sniffle sounded on the other side, further giving his heart another inch to sink downward.

If he stayed longer to hear her cry it would probably drop to the floor.

So he reluctantly peeled his feet away from where he stood, trodding quietly back up the corridor.

* * *

**A/N: **i'll admit that this was one of my favorite chapters to write out; when i was writing it i was slightly freaking out inside my head because the events of the last two paragraphs were going to crash-land badly when i was thinking it out but thank God it didn't blow up in my face and went swimmingly.. er as swimmingly as possible when frustration and unrequited emotions are thrown into the air. relax, duckies, there'll be more ByaKita stuff going down in the future, so sit tight. also, sorry if i made Byakuya to be a bit OOC in the last paragraph, so don't kill me, fellow Byakuya fangirls out there! D:until then, ja ne!

***Inori (Prayer) - Takahito Eguchi (Trinity Blood OST)**


	4. Glory-Gore: Tactics

**_Glory/Gore: Tactics_**

* * *

He scowled down at the report in hand, having reread the last two lines at least twice by now; a vein twitched on his brow. "Akatsuki, remind me as to **why** you two are here **in my office**?" He demanded cattily.

The lanky brunette looked over at his captain's annoyed teal gaze, hazel-green eyes patient. "Don't blame me, Taichō; my sister just came here out of the blue…"

"I came to see **Rangiku**, dumbass." She pulled his right cheek out, taking another bite out of the sweet bun in hand. "The fact that I brought sweet buns –_which so happen to be your favorites_—is the only reason you're in here too." She declared dryly, in no mood for his sarcasm.

Akatsuki Kiba rubbed his cheek gingerly from where she pulled, grimacing. "Like a moth to the flame, _imoto_-chan." He remarked calmly with a sigh.

"Apparently so." The voice of the intended party mused lightly as she threw her arms around his neck, making him blush as she embraced her lover.

Hitsugaya Tōshirō stuck his tongue out and grumbled something under his breath in disgust, putting on the part of a child even though he refused to be considered as such.

Kita rolled her eyes and poured her a cup of _sake_ as the lieutenant plopped down next to her brother, sipping her own cup briefly. "If it's all the same to you, Ran-chan, y'mind laying off on the affectionate shit right now? I've got problems." She wondered.

Matsumoto Rangiku blinked once before she took a generous sip from her cup. "Is that right? Don't tell me it's dealing with **him** again." She had been there the night her old friend had been drunk enough to go give the man in question a piece of her mind; she half-blamed herself for giving her the required ammunition.

Visibly deflating as she ripped off a particular chunk of sweet bun from her snack, she nodded and munched. "He's such a bastard sometimes, friggin' digging the knife deeper into the friggin' wound… Why the hell does this happen to me?" She growled irritably around the bread, swallowing.

The couple briefly shared a look before her best friend exhaled. "Call me crazy, but it sounds like he was trying to make amends; he still feels guilty, for all you know, for what he told you back then." She ignored the disgruntled growl the third seat uttered as she reached to refill her cup. "And if he's trying to make amends that means he still…" She paused, watching her scowl over at her.

The alcohol was starting to soothe her nerves but what she was saying was just making her mood become sour as it had been for the majority of the morning prior to her visit to the Tenth Division barracks. "'That means he still' _what_, Rangiku?" She drawled pointedly, cocking both brows.

"It means he still loves you." Matsumoto answered patiently, mentally preparing for the fireworks.

Kiba snatched the plate of sweet buns out of the way as she spat out her drink, coughing. "Real smooth, love." He muttered.

"**That's bullshit**! He has no right to love me, that overgrown arrogant bastard! H-how… Why would he put me through hell for the past century if he loves me!? _What kind of love is that!?_" Kita shouted, slamming her fists onto the tabletop and glaring heated daggers at her friend's empathetic stare.

"**Akatsuki, keep it down**!" Hitsugaya barked impatiently from his desk.

"Shut it, pipsqueak!" She snarled angrily, jumping to her feet and storming away from the room.

"Oi, where're you going?" Rangiku asked, ignoring the death glare her captain sent at the retreating woman.

"**Nowhere**! Thanks for your shitty advice, Matsumoto." She snapped, continuing on her way down the corridor; she needed to cool off and then locate where Ichigo had gone to.

Kiba looked at the frown crinkling his lover's brow and exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "I'll find her; see you later, Rangiku." He leaned in to give her a chaste kiss before shuffling to his feet to follow his sister.

::::::::x-x::::::::

He caught up to her as she was heading in the direction of the Senzaikyu, vaguely wondering why she was going there of all places; of course she'd been concerned about the capital offender –which so happened to be that man's sister-in-law, Kuchiki Rukia, but that was another matter for another day...

"I **don't** need sympathy, especially from the **happy couple**." She drawled quietly, perking his ears as he'd sidled up to her left side, arms crossed over his chest.

Kiba rolled his eyes at her snarky attitude, planting a hand on her head and ruffling her hair, making her grumble something under her breath and look away, flustered. "I'm your brother, in case you forgot; sympathy isn't really my strong-suit but keepin' you sane, on the other hand, **is**." He reminded patiently.

Kita quieted beneath his hand and slid her eyes closed, leaning her head into his touch and sighing shakily. "Kiba…"

He smiled softly down at her, slinging his arm around her shoulders and squeezing. "Don't shoulder this on your own, okay? You're my little sister, after all, and seein' you cry makes me want to sucker-punch the nobility out of him, to be honest. Wonder if I still can, I mean he's prolly in his office right now…" He mused aloud, trying to be funny for her as he used to do when she was younger.

"Onii-san!" She whined and groaned, scowling up at him with her cheeks puffed out childishly, slightly flustered.

Kiba chuckled and smiled at her, seeing her frustrated expression slowly fade and a small timid smile take its place; _well, it's not a grin, but it'll do_. "Mind if I ask you a question?"

"Shoot," Kita replied, looking away to rub her nose gingerly and letting her eyes rest on the looming Shi-Shinrō tower that housed her friend.

He followed her line of sight. "You're not trying to save her or anything reckless like that, are you…?" He glanced at her as she froze minutely with a hand on her head fixing her ruffled hair.

"W-why would you think that?" She stammered, starting to feel like a trapped mouse.

Measuring her with a knowing look and noting that she fidgeted under his stare –as was her way when she knew she'd been caught—it dawned on him that his hunch had been correct, after all. "Because I'm sensing two different _reiatsu_ coming from the Shi-Shinrō, and neither of them belong to the Shinigami already there. You know them, don't you?" He wasn't going to rat her out, she was his kid sister for the gods' sakes, but he wasn't about to let her get away so easily either. "How am I doing so far?"

She chewed her bottom lip and grimaced, keeping her eyes from his stare. "P…Pretty damn good." She grumbled in defeat.

_What the hell am I, __**an open book**__? Geez!_

Exhaling, Kiba secured the sheathed zanpakutō at his left hip and ran a hand through his brown hair. "If we're done with the interrogation, let's get moving." He started walking off.

"W-wait a second!" Kita stammered, hurrying after her brother. "Kiba, why're you helping me? Shouldn't you be trying to turn me in to Hitsugaya…?" She asked confusedly.

He snorted, "because one of us hasta have a straight head on our shoulders around here! And given that between us both I'm the oldest, I'm the one who's takin' full responsibility for your actions, okay? And if we run into _him_, then…" He paused and glanced at the slight tic in her right cheek at the mention of that noble; he huffed and traced his fingers along the silver edge of his zanpakutō's hilt idly. "Then it'd be my pleasure to finally draw my sword against that jackass." His hazel eyes met her blue and they softened.

She almost stopped walking, looking at him in surprise that slowly shifted to awe. "Kiba-onii…" She said quietly.

He paused and noted the slightly-agape expression on her pretty face and inwardly chuckled, tousling her hair again. "Come on, and keep your _reiatsu_ concealed like I taught you, 'kay?" He reminded.

"Right!" She nodded and smiled slowly, disappearing in a whisper of _shun-po_ with her brother shortly following suit.  
_Thank you, Kiba-onii_.

* * *

"Oi, intruders…!"

"Keep yer mouth shut." A foot connected with the guard's left temple, sending him flying off.  
He rolled his eyes. "That was too easy, _imoto_-chan…"

Both "intruders" turned about to see the third seat had returned as she'd said she would, a lanky brunette at her side wearing the standard _shihakushō_ and a dark green cape-of-sorts on his shoulders, his hazel-green eyes patiently looking at her. "K-Kita-chan!" Hanatarō declared, perking her ears.

"Oi, who's he?" Ganju asked, eyeing the obvious Shinigami cautiously.

The brunette blinked once before huffing and crossing his arms. "No need to raise the alarm, I'm her brother, Akatsuki Kiba, the fourth seat of Tenth Division." _So these guys were what everyone is so riled up about? They don't look very… promising_, he sweatdropped.

Kita nodded. "Yep, he's tellin' the truth; sorry for being late. But apparently we came in perfect timing," she looked at Hanatarō and smiled lightly at noticing the key he held in hand.

Hanatarō blinked before nodding, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah, you're right." He twisted the key in the lock, opening the door to her cell.

"Geez, everybody's so desperate to save this Rukia girl, she must be a real cutie-pie!" Ganju sighed, earning a couple of sweatdrops from both Akatsuki siblings.

"Not in so many words…" Kiba grumbled.

"W-well, not exactly…" Hanatarō chimed.

"C'mon, don't be shy; lemme take a look! Oh, Rukia~!" Ganju was the first to poke his head into the cell, blinking and freezing in place when coming across a petite girl with shoulder-length raven hair and a pair of large violet eyes.

Kuchiki Rukia blinked in surprise at seeing both of the two "intruders". "Who are you, are you two with Ichigo?" She asked in mild confusion.

"It's me, Rukia-chan! You're all right, thank God!" Hanatarō said lightly in relief, surprising the girl again.

Rukia balked slightly, "Hanatarō! What're you doing here?" She asked alertly, truly baffled at the sight.

"Saving you, what else?" Kita came forward as well, Kiba following, seeing her friend's eyes widen again; she grinned, feeling happy for the first time all day. "S' been a while, ne, Rukia?"

"Kita! W-wait a second, did all four of you come just to rescue me…?" She asked, feeling relieved and confused at the same time.

"It's a long story, but I'll explain later; c'mon, Rukia-chan," Hanatarō piped up as he took her wrist and led her forward, pausing short of Ganju's stiff form. "c'mon, hurry, Ganju! There's no time to… Um, Ganju?"

Kita lifted a brow at his stupefied expression, noting that he looked as if he'd seen a ghost. Maybe he did?

"That pattern, the tumbling current of the fallen heavens. Are you from the Shiba Clan?" Rukia asked quietly, violet eyes meeting his beady brown stare.

"I thought you looked familiar… You're the younger brother of Shiba Kaien." Kiba mused aloud, briefly surprising his sister and her friends; his hazel-green eyes saddened slightly as he recalled the tragedy that had struck their neighboring clan over fifty years ago.

_Kaien…?_ Her eyes sharpened slightly. _Shiba Kaien… The former lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division! __**Ganju**__ was his little brother? _She looked at the saddened expression on her brother's face, the same expression masking the petite Kuchiki's face as well; her gaze sombered.

"…How could I ever forget that face? She's the Shinigami that killed my brother." Ganju ground out, seeming to slip out of the brief shocked state he was in, his gaze focusing on the shorter woman.

Hanatarō balked as Kita's eyes sharpened briefly; he turned to the younger Shiba, "W-what're you talking about, Ganju…? Rukia-chan would never…" He tried to reason with him, grabbing his arm.

"The wounds on my brother's body were from a sword; his throat was slit open, his chest punctured… _If he'd fought a hollow, he wouldn't have died from wounds like that!_ Besides, she admitted it herself, that night! **She said she killed him**!" He shouted with renewed anger aimed at the emotionless-masked Kuchiki Rukia.

"It's alright, Hanatarō, he's right. If you're one of the Shiba Clan, then your brother, Shiba Kaien, did die by my hand." She answered the challenge calmly, her face a dead-ringer for a certain captain's stoic features, violet eyes meeting the livid brown glare of Shiba Ganju.

With a snarl he flew at her, yanking on the scruff of her robe and glowering into her blank scowl. "Do what you will, I won't stop you: kill me if you want." Rukia declared lowly.

"Rukia, enough." A flare of _reiatsu_ escaped her as she forced him away from the girl, stepping between them with her back to the surprised Kuchiki woman, standing protectively infront of her.

"K-Kita…" She began softly.

"You didn't come all this way just to strangle her, right? You and Hanatarō were both entrusted to save Rukia! Don't think I won't fight you if you come at her again, Ganju." Kita growled frostily, one hand gripping the hilt of her zanpakutō tight, watching him rise to his feet steadily from being hit with just her _reiatsu_ alone, her blue eyes hard.

"Kita's right, Ichigo trusted us both with her life…!" Hanatarō chimed alertly as he and Kiba held him back by the arms.

As the entrapped Ganju began to spout a fiery rebuttal, a monstrous _reiatsu_ shook the tower, surprising everyone gathered.  
Her heart plummeted into her chest as she instantly recognized the spiritual pressure: she'd know it anywhere…

A pair of fearful cries came from both Ganju and Hanatarō as they looked to see the older Kuchiki crossing the bridge to Rukia's cell.

"Onii-sama," Rukia breathed quietly as Kiba backed away from the younger Shiba and came to stand faithfully at his sister's left.

Kita's hand gripped and re-gripped the hilt tightly, exhuming a thin amount of her own _reiatsu_ to keep from being shaken by her captain's much-more-powerful intimidation tactic, her teeth grinding together.

"Byakuya."

* * *

**A/N**: yay, first cliffhanger! .. yeah, that was retarded, i know. 0: either way, there's tension in the air and it doesn't smell good. umm anyway, my mind went blank atm just when i was gonna put something else here in this A/N, so there blows that idea.

ja ne!

***Glory and Gore - Lorde/ Tactics - Takahito Eguchi (Trinity Blood OST) **

***_onii-san_ - big brother/ _imoto-chan_ - little sister**


	5. Glory-Gore II: Ghosts

**_Glory/Gore II: Ghosts_**

* * *

God he was a fool… such a damn fool!

Blood splattered the boards beneath him from the sharp nick his left arm bore; he whirled about angrily despite the pain radiating up and down his shoulders. "N-Not so fast!" He declared, making the much-stronger man pause.

"Are you deaf? I told you to disappear." He repeated the last word with disgust.

"Save it, rich boy! I don't care even if you are some hotshot noble; I'm a Shiba! There isn't a coward among us who'd be scared off so easily!" Ganju boasted.

A rustling of robes as he turned about to face him properly. "You're from the Shiba Clan? So, you're one of them… I apologize for dismissing you. You must've realized that you won't be leaving here alive." Byakuya mused in a dangerous tone, perking the ears of both women present, as he drew his zanpakutō.

He looked confused, "what're you gonna do from over there?" He sort of huffed.

"**Onii-sama, DON'T**!" Rukia shouted desperately as the blade disappeared in a swirl of pink blades.

Kiba gritted his teeth slightly and gripped the hilt of his own zanpakutō, noting his sister's shoulders were shaking slightly as she stood at his side; he glanced at her, concern flitting in his gaze. _Kita_…

"**_RUN_**_!_" Rukia cried even as the younger Shiba stared at the air slightly dumbfounded.

Blood flew from the numerous gashes _Senbonzakura_ had inflicted on him as he fell backward onto the bridge.  
"Ganju…" Hanatarō breathed in horror.

Kiba perked up as the Kuchiki clan-head turned to them, the same cold expression he'd worn when he'd cut down Shiba Ganju present on his handsome face; he glared at him, extending an arm infront of Rukia out of chivalry. "Kuchiki, don't even think about it. She's your sister, remember?" He declared, gripping the dark-green-clothed hilt of _Hakuryūjin_.

"Onii-sama, **stop**!" Rukia exclaimed from behind the lanky Akatsuki clan-head.

"_Hadō 4: Byakurai!_" A jet of white lightning sailed past his right ear, jarring her captain out of the slightly-homicidal vibe he'd been exhuming; his gray eyes widened alertly. "Kita." He began quietly when meeting her hardened blue stare.

Kita glared at him, her _reiatsu_ calming as she lowered her hand; his eyes didn't miss the slight shakes that rolled down her arms, whether from fear that she'd been caught red-handed or fear of what he would do, he didn't know.

But aside from that she looked hell-bent on protecting her companions, even if it meant crossing him.  
_Oh Kita_…

"That was a close shot, wasn't it? It's dangerous around here! Haven't you done enough already, Kuchiki- Taichō?" A second captain with white hair mused aloud as he appeared out of a whispered _shun-po_ behind his colleague, surprising him.

Kita and Rukia blinked in surprise; Kiba perked up. "C-Captain Ukitake!" Rukia was the one to break the monotony first, perking his ears.

The Thirteenth Division captain blinked at seeing the familiar faces and then smiled one of his infamous kind smiles, saluting them, "Hey, Kuchiki-chan, you've lost weight! This is a surprise, seeing both the Akatsuki siblings here as well! It's been a long time." He said jovially.

The oldest of the trio smiled in slight relief, lightening his grasp on the zanpakutō's hilt. "Good to see your health is on the uptake today, Ukitake-Taichō." _If Ukitake's here then things should calm down; at least I hope_.

The tension between both the Kuchiki captain and his third seat was still tangible beneath the surface coated in elation that had come with Ukitake Jūshiro's intervention.

"What're you doing, Ukitake?" Byakuya ground out irritably, sending a sideways glare at his senior colleague.

His dark brow knitted in response, "hey, I should be the one asking **you** that instead. You know there's a ban against drawing a zanpakutō here, even if it's to ward off a _ryoka_. What were you thinking, Byakuya?" He pretended the glare didn't deepen when he spoke his first name in public.

"There's a wartime exemption, drawing one's zanpakutō is permitted." He answered dryly.

His kind brown eyes tightened in slight confusion, "'Wartime exemption'?! Is the appearance of a few wayward _ryoka_ that important? Was Aizen killed by…?"

The rest of his barrage of questions was silenced instantly as a _reiatsu_ equal to that of a captain's hummed in the air around them, surprising both captains present.

"T-this _reiatsu_… It's incredible!" Kiba declared around a grimace at the strength and fluctuation, digging his heels into the floorboards and standing his ground as his sister did the same. _It doesn't belong to any of the other captains, that much I can tell… Then who? It's almost scary!_

Kita widened her eyes as she recognized the _reiatsu_ and the owner of such a strong sensation that slightly shook her bones, fisting her hands infront of her chest. "He's here."

* * *

'_Are you sure she'll be fine, Taichō?' She'd glanced over at the collapsed form of her friend with concern._

_He'd followed her line of sight and met her eyes, knowing the concern was not only for his subordinate but her captain as well… 'Yeah, she'll be all right. If you want to catch up to him, I think you still can.' He saw her blink in confusion._

_'W-wait, how did you…?' She'd stuttered, feeling her cheeks redden at being an unofficial-open-book for the second time in one day._

_His brown eyes had softened into a warm expression that she had a feeling made girls turn to putty if they fell for it. 'You two grew up together, its common sense to you at this point in time about how you feel, right?' He hadn't entirely been guessing, given how he'd seen both aforementioned captain and subordinate act around each other._

_She'd scritched the back of her head in slight annoyance at herself. 'You older captains are all the same, sometimes… Thanks for not turning us in, Ukitake-Taichō.' She'd bowed respectfully before turning about to disappear in a whisper of _shun-po_ in search of her captain.._.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you play tag with Yoruichi."

The brush paused in writing on the paper when he heard her voice at the door to his office; his eyes slid closed and he continued writing. "You forget that I'm a captain now; I would never stoop low enough to act childish while on duty." He rebutted.

She rolled her eyes habitually, refraining from pulling away from the doorframe. "I knew you'd be here." She mused softly.

"Were we not as close as we are, I would've had you arrested on sight." He mused shortly, his brush strokes more defined, the ink seeping through the paper.

She looked down the vacant hall absently, ignoring a wince. "I didn't want to see you kill, especially not your own sister-in-law." She slid her eyes closed and huffed quietly. "Besides, that Byakurai was my own personal brand of payback for our little chat the night before." She added snidely.

Gods, why did her being cross with him do this to him? "Still sore about that." _Then again, as much as I hate to admit it, in a way I did deserve her wrath; it's been long overdue_. He opened his eyes when noting the dampness of the ink had torn a hole in the paper he was writing on; he frowned and put the brush down, crumpling the paper into a ball and disposing of it in the small trash bin next to his desk.

"You're damn right I'm sore about it. What the hell was that last night, Byakuya? Why did you do that?" She snapped, turning to face him and letting the door close once she stepped away from it.

Her arms slightly shook again at her sides.

He was beginning to dislike epiphanies. "Don't pin the blame on me, you're still not off the hook for what you pulled earlier near the Senzaikyu. And don't you dare act so tough, either!" He saw her livid glare falter minutely under his own annoyed glare as he continued. "You cried yourself to sleep the night before, didn't you? I heard you trying to fight the tears, before I left…"

His glare faltered to be replaced with a sad expression that made him appear much older than he normally looked, gray eyes melted. "Do you have any idea how horrible it felt to know that I was the one who made you cry?"

Kita cringed under his stare, the shakes reaching to her balled fists that hung at her sides, and looked away as she let her bangs shadow her eyes. "My life should mean nothing to you at this point; it never should've been worth your pity ever since that day you told me you were going to be married to her." She sniffed on reflex and uttered a shaky laugh, "I… I didn't know what to do then, and I sure as hell don't know what to do now, either… I'm just as confused as I was then, Byakuya." Her voice was becoming hoarse, the lump of tears that had eased her to sleep the night before resurfacing to reclaim its place in her throat.

His larger hand stroking her right cheek surprised her; she looked up alertly to lock gaze with his sombered gray eyes.

"B-Byakuya…" She murmured, cringing when his fingers grazed her cheekbone again, looking away.

"Don't look away, not from me. Kita." He requested quietly, his free hand lowering to clasp her left hand in his fingers and feeling the shakes slowly stop.

Kita kept her eyes from his, her fingers instinctively tightening on his own, closing her eyes. "D-dummy, don't feel sorry for me. I'm the one who's guilty of all this crap, of ever believing that you could love me just like you did her… Like you did for Hisana." She never had anything against the former Lady Kuchiki, though the mere thought of her being with Byakuya used to put her in a depressed mood due to it reminding her of the last thing he'd told her prior to marrying that woman.

"Now who's being the dummy, you foolish woman? I may not love you like I did Hisana, but you forget that I knew you longer, I knew how you were, just as I knew that you've loved me for so long." He watched her eyes open partly and stare, slightly wide, at the corner of one of his shelves. "You've refused to let yourself feel anything more than respect and companionship, am I right?" The slight reddening of her cheeks told him volumes.

Kita inwardly cursed his too-keen observant eyes, shivering softly when he cupped her cheek, reluctantly looking up at him. "I really hate the fact that you always see right through me." She mused softly, slightly bitter about it.

_I guess in a way that's a good thing_…

A soft chuckle escaped him as Byakuya's gray eyes softened warmly at garnering one of her tomboyish final-rebuttals, a sign that she was coming out from behind the wall she'd built around her heart for so long. He leaned his head in and pressed his forehead to hers gently, surprising her and making her cheeks redden again.

"B-Byakuya…" She began quietly when he pressed his lips to hers in a kiss, knowing her cheeks were going to permanently stay red with what he'd just pulled.

His hand on her cheek traced his thumb along her cheekbone gently as she closed her eyes and found herself kissing back, earning an inward smile from him, as he went for a second kiss that had an edge to it, an edge that she subconsciously saw as a challenge and met eagerly, lifting her hands to bunch her fingers in his captain's _haori_.

It was after a few long kisses and squabbles for dominance that the kiss broke when he initiated it, leaving her to gasp and pant slightly for air; his arms tightened around her small waist protectively and he regained his breath as well, resting his cheek against the side of her head. "Kita…" He groaned softly, sending a shiver down her spine.

She buried her cheek into his scarf's fabric, noting it was surprisingly soft to the touch, partly opening her eyes as her hands gripped the back of his shoulders on reflex. "I used to be afraid, afraid that I'd get hurt again… I guess I've been like that for a while now, haven't I?" She guessed quietly.

He raised a hand to brush her wavy black locks idly. "You did a good job of not showing it for as long as you did." He mused an answer.

Kita nodded and smiled wryly. "Now I know, though, that you won't hurt me."

Gray eyes softening, Byakuya smiled slightly, leaving a small kiss on the side of her temple. "So long as I can still breathe, I don't wish to ever make you cry again, either."

_And that's a promise I intend to keep, no matter what_.

* * *

**A/N**: crap, i forgot just how difficult it was to write for Byakuya... sometimes his stoic character isn't so easy to work with! Dx ah well, the chapter ended on a good note so if i made him a bit too flowery or overtly-romantic then i apologize. keeping him in character is my main priority given that he and my OC are the main pairing in this story, so i'm concerned with what you lot think.  
anyway, **review** and let me know if my depiction of Byakuya backfired. thanks~

ja ne!

***Glory and Gore - Lorde**


	6. I See Fire

_**I See Fire**_

* * *

There had been a bit of a lot of commotion going on lately.

So far –from what she'd heard on the wind— Aizen Sōsuke, the Captain of Fifth Division, was dead by a mysterious murderer's zanpakutō, and both lieutenants Kira and Hinamori were incarcerated.

The fact that Rukia's execution had been upped by another day had made her captain seem more somber than normal, putting her in a slight mood as well; talk about ricocheting.

She had a sinking feeling she was still on not-so-good terms with Matsumoto; now that she thought on it, she was only trying to help, and seeing as she was one of her oldest friends aside from Kiba and Byakuya, who was she to take her for granted?

A soft breeze stole past her as she looked out at the rising sun, playing with locks of her wavy hair; she slid her eyes closed and took in the breeze's scents in a deep inhale.

"Will you be strong enough to challenge him…? Ichigo?" Kita whispered to the oncoming blue sky.

* * *

"So remind me what you're doing here, again?"

He blinked his hazel eyes at her as she paused in disengaging the practice sword from being locked with his own before he huffed quietly and smiled sweetly, "C'mon, can't I come pay a visit to my dearest _imoto_-chan~?" He cooed.

With a sharp '_clack_' she unlocked the two swords and swung hers at the back of his knees with a calm flick of the wrist, sending him down to the hard floorboards.

"Ow…"

"You seriously need to stop having sake meetings with Kyōraku-Taichō; all that baby-talk is making me nauseous." Kita deadpanned, sticking her tongue out, the tip of her blade aimed at his nose.

Kiba pouted sorely up at his sister, exhaling and flopping back in defeat. "You're no fun sometimes… Crushing on that Kuchiki boy has almost made you as stale as him." He grumbled.

"Just answer the question, dummy." She poked his foot with a toe, contemplating pulling his cheek out as she had the other day, a vein twitching on her brow.

He sat up and lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck gingerly. "Hitsugaya and Rangiku went off somewhere; I haven't seen them all morning. Rangiku didn't come to bed last night either so whatever is going on, they're both involved." _But then again, that might have something to do with the tension in the air; it's clogging up the air within the Seireitei, it's almost unbearable. Is it all because of Kuchiki's execution…?_

She frowned softly at hearing the news, gesturing for his practice sword and turning to put them away. "Something's obviously going on, then, if it's involving both Matsumoto and Hitsugaya. Whether it has anything to do with Rukia's execution, I'm not entirely sure… I suppose none of the other captains are aware of this, least of Byakuya or Ukitake." She mused, tapping her chin with a finger.

"Have you heard word from your friend yet?" He asked quietly, perking her ears and reminding her of that day at the Shi-Shinrō.

'**_Three days; in three days I'll make him strong enough to challenge you_**_.' The usually-warm voice of the woman that had inspired her to become stronger, Shihōin Yoruichi, rang in her ears as she'd carried a drugged-unconscious Ichigo on her shoulder before disappearing in a whisper of_ shun-po.

"No, nothing yet." She finally answered, looking down at her open palm before closing her hand into a fist. "I'm not too worried about him, though; he'll come… I know he will." She mused softly, smiling.

_I just hope that he'll be strong enough to face Byakuya; I don't doubt Yoruichi's word, but a bluff is still a bluff_…

"So where's the wonder boy? I'd thought he would be skulking around here, somewhere…" Kiba wondered aloud, bringing her out of her thoughts again.

Kita briefly sought out his _reiatsu_ and mentally bit her lip as she noted that it wasn't anywhere within the division's barracks. _Gone already?_ "He's at the execution grounds." Her voice sounded a little more crestfallen than she'd have expected it to sound.

He slipped the dark green scabbard of _Hakuryūjin_ into the white sash at his waist, his brow furrowing slightly as he didn't miss the tone in her voice. "Renji's somewhere within the Seireitei; Rangiku mentioned that he had broken out of his cell the other day." _Knowing him, he'll probably try to intercept Kuchiki before he can ever get to the execution site… Why doesn't this spell out anything good?_

Apparently she was thinking along the same wave as she cursed under her breath. "If he's out of his cell, that only spells trouble." She mused grimly, shrugging the black scabbard of _Kuroyaibira_ over her shoulder by the gray strap and scowling to herself.

"Now you're thinking… Hey, where're you going? Kita!" He demanded as she took off in a whisper of _shun-po_, following shortly at her heels as they continued with her in the lead until they were several miles away from the barracks. "Kita, hold on!" He grabbed her wrist and halted her in mid-leap, forcing her to a halt.

She scowled at the rest of the Seireitei sprawled out before her from her post on the roof of a nearby building, her free hand balling into a fist at her side. "Damn it, why did I figure this would happen…? Stupid Renji." She muttered.

"There's nothing you can do about it, you know that; if he challenges Kuchiki, you know he's going to lose. He hasn't achieved bankai, if you recall." _Not like us_, he inwardly added, scowling at his sister.

"Don't you think I know that? I'm gonna go find Byakuya, not Renji," _although I have a feeling that I'll see the both of them in the same sitting regardless_; she looked up at his hazel-green eyes. "Kiba, head over to the execution grounds, and I'll see if I can't do something about it after all. Will you do that for me, please?" Kita held his stare with a look of plea in her clear blue eyes.

_Damn it, not the puppy-dog look_… "You're so not fair using that trick, it's damn-well illegal… Don't stick your neck out for no apparent reason. This time I **will** kick his ass if he drags you into a fight." Kiba reluctantly complied, his scowl faltering a little.

She hugged him tight, "you're the best!" She beamed up at him before slipping away to turn and disappear in another whisper of _shun-po_, leaving her brother on the rooftop.

He sighed and rubbed his neck gingerly. "Y'really must be nuts over that stuffy rich-boy after all…" He too soon vanished using _shun-po_, headed in the direction of Sōkyoku Hill.

::::::::x-x::::::::

The swell of _reiatsu_ was incredible, downright monstrous!

Smoke clouded around the lieutenant's form, keeping him hidden from his sight.

"Byakuya," she appeared out of _shun-po_ at his side, perking his ears, her eyes following his gaze and narrowing as she recognized the swell of _reiatsu_ to have come from her comrade. _Renji_…

His gray eyes didn't deter from the focal point even though he was cursing himself for not telling her prior to stay on standby at the barracks. It's not as if she'd listen, anyway… Her loyalty was and remained to be consistent, downright passionate when it concerned his well-being.

It was one of the qualities about her he'd found attractive.

"You shouldn't have come." He ground out in a clipped tone, his concentration on the released bankai of his lieutenant making his voice sound stony and cold.

She ignored his tone, noting that a muscle in his jaw made it twitch in something she half-guessed to be anger. "Don't let this go to your head, but I couldn't stay away; not with so much tension in the air, leastways."

His scowl had turned into a glare. "You're not going to interfere in this battle; I don't want to risk your safety. Stay out of the way, and if things escalate then wait for me at the execution grounds. Am I understood?" At this he looked at her with both gray eyes, seeing the brief baffled look on her pretty face.

_He's worried about me?_ She nodded slightly and spared the clearing smoke a soft frown before leaning up to kiss him for luck, stepping back with a small smile. "Yes, Captain." She winked for him before disappearing from his side to take a post on a tall tower's roof, landing nimbly.

* * *

**A/N**: aww isn't he cute when he's being protective..? _/gets bricked _

***I See Fire - Ed Sheeran (The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug OST)**


	7. Heretic II - Kagefumi (Powerless)

**_Heretic II - Kagefumi (Powerless)_**

* * *

He turned about to walk away as she appeared out of another _shun-po_ at his side, landing nimbly. "You didn't leave." _Not like he wanted her to_.

She frowned at the felled lieutenant, looking at the debris that was clearing slowly around the ruined courtyard. "Of course not; you didn't exactly tell me to run, you told me to stay out of the fight." She replied quietly.

"Then remind me to be clearer next time." He remarked, not sparing the dying redhead a look as he continued walking, hearing her follow shortly.

She looked back briefly at the sight and let her eyes linger on Renji a second longer before looking forward, a soft frown forming. "I'm **not** a damsel, remember? Nor am I a princess: I'm a woman of the Gotei 13, and the Third Seat of your division, a seat you chose for me because you knew that I was strong enough for the job." She stated stubbornly despite the frown.

His gray eyes had widened a little at hearing her sound so confident before his gaze softened and he nodded, looking forward with a quiet scoff. "You really are the most stubborn and beautiful woman I've ever met." He mused.

Kita blushed prettily at his compliment and then huffed, nudging his arm with her elbow. "Save it for later, rich-boy." She teased gently.

Byakuya rolled his eyes habitually and smiled at her. 

* * *

It didn't take a rocket-scientist to know that he was pissed.

A sudden racket sounded from the side, making both Akatsuki siblings blink and look to the source of the noise, as a familiar lieutenant sucker-punched the last guard present, panting slightly and dropping the unconscious man. "Huh, he made it after all." Kiba raised both brows in mild surprise.

"**Renji**!" Kita and Rukia exclaimed in relief, making the redhead look up at the top of the broken stand and widen his eyes at seeing the orange-haired Shinigami present. "Rukia!" He beamed.

Ichigo blinked before an idea popped into his head. "Oi, Renji!" He lifted up the petite Shinigami in his grip by her robe's sash, making her blink in surprise as he smiled at the genius idea.

"You're not _serious_…" Kiba began.

Renji sweatdropped, "Hang on, you've gotta be kidding… _You wouldn't…!_"

"_**CATCH**!_"

And just like that Ichigo send Kuchiki Rukia spiraling down to the ground towards a completely-angered-and-surprised Renji.

Kita slapped her forehead and groaned. "_**YOU DUMBASS-STRAWBERRY**!_" She shouted angrily as the aforementioned lieutenant caught her in time and they both bounced back until he skidded to a halt to stop the cycle.

"**ICHIGO, YOU IDIOT**!" Rukia shrieked at him as Renji was swearing like crazy.

Kiba rubbed his temples. "You really have a weird taste in friends, Kita…"

"Get going!" Ichigo declared, slightly confusing both of the old friends, "Don't just stand there, take her away from here! That's your job; don't let her go even if you die!" He held his stare for a second.

Renji nodded slightly, gripping her closer as he turned and bolted away, surprising his charge.

Kita shook her head and looked up at the redhead present, smiling privately. "Good to see you here, then, strawberry." She said quietly.

"What're you doing just standing there like an idiot!? Go after them, all lieutenants go after them now!" The authoritative bark of the captain of the Second Division, Soi Fon, rang out, making her jump. All three lieutenants present – Ōmaeda, Kotetsu, and Sasakibe – slightly jumped at her sudden order before taking off after the fleeing Abarai Renji.

Ichigo appeared before them in a whisper of _shun-po_, lightly gripping the hilt of _Zangetsu_; not surprisingly, all three lieutenants began to release their shikai before Ōmaeda was the first one to be knocked out of the small squabble with just Ichigo's fist, shocking both fellow lieutenants, before he rounded on Sasakibe and knocked him out as well; he made to do the same with Kotetsu before the side of Kiba's left hand hit her neck from behind, knocking her unconscious as she fell, slightly surprising the redhead.

Kiba shrugged, holding his brown eyes in his hazel stare. "I'll see to it Renji doesn't do something stupid; just keep my sister out of the fight." He declared with a slight smirk.  
Ichigo huffed and smiled back, nodding, "I'll do my best; thanks, Akatsuki." He watched him disappear in a whisper of _shun-po_ from before him.

Kita inwardly shook her head, outwardly smiling after her older brother. "Always wanting to be a part of the action." A burst of _reiatsu_ flared at her side, surprising her, before she watched a streak of black and white fly at the slightly-distracted ryoka, "head's up!" She declared.

Without flinching, a loud '_klang_' rang in the air when he brought up the front of _Zangetsu_ to block a would-be attack from behind from _Senbonzakura_; brown and gray clashed and regarded each other coldly.

Ichigo smirked widely, "I see your moves… Kuchiki Byakuya." The smirk turned cocky when he held the nobleman's stare a solid moment longer.

Kita frowned concernedly, "Byakuya…" Then again, this was the source of the tension, the tension that had fumigated the air all day; _talk about tenacity_.

::::::::x-x::::::::

"Onee-chan!" She blinked and looked over to see Kotetsu's younger sister, Kiyone, rushing to her sister's side; her eyes sharpened slightly when Soi Fon appeared out of _shun-po_ at her back, having discarded Kotsubaki by literally tossing him aside. "Kiyone!" She barked, sprinting forward to aid her fellow third-seated officer that got the brunt of a sharp kick to her back.

Soi Fon narrowly dodged a foot aimed for her head, watching the taller subordinate land nimbly opposite her to stand defensively infront of the younger Kotetsu. "Third Seat Akatsuki, it's no wonder you'd defend a lazy subordinate just like yourself, given you've already aided traitors and ryoka. I'll deal out your punishment after I deal out Third Seat Kotetsu's; **now. _move_**." She ordered stonily.

"Kita…" Kiyone coughed slightly and looked at her.

"Kiyone was only following orders by staying at her captain's side; it's not a crime, last I looked. Nobility dilutes your brain eventually, and it apparently came too early for Yoruichi's fangirl." She knew she struck a nerve and was probably going to get killed for it, but defending her friends was one thing she was passionate about… _Even if it meant getting her ass handed to her by the head of the Omnitsukidō_.

With a slight growl the petite captain lunged at her, her _Suzumebachi_ drawn swiftly; a loud '_klang_' rang out when _Kuroyaibira_ blocked her swing, sparks flying.

She glared into her gray stare, sharply headbutting her forehead and knocking her back, leaving her room to disappear and then reappear at her back, making to test out her version of her captain's _senka_ attack. She whipped around to block her, forcing her weight onto the blades and glaring at her cold blue stare.

A thin amount of her _reiatsu_ flared as she forced her away roughly, sending her skidding back into the ground, before she flew at her, an unreleased _Kuroyaibira_ sailing at her in sharp jabs aimed for her face or neck, missing as she dodged each with ease. Bringing _Suzumebachi_ up to deflect a final swipe, Soi Fon uppercut her right fist sharply into her left jaw, sending Kita flying.

She grimaced when she landed on her side, sitting up slightly and using her arms for support as she made to get up when the captain's smaller foot rammed into her ribs, knocking her back and also knocking the wind out of her lungs for a painful moment.

"It was a shame to hear when the Akatsuki Clan fell off the list of the noble houses; your brother has tried, but he's not who your father was. So out of cowardice he joined the Gotei 13 to keep you both alive. You're both a **disgrace**!" She made to deliver another kick when a blur of orange tackled her and they both spirited away.

Kita sat up slightly and hugged her ribs, looking in the direction the blur had gone with a surprised Soi Fon captive; her eyes sharpened as she recognized the blur, before she smiled slowly, gingerly getting to her feet.

"I owe you one, Yoruichi." 

* * *

**A/N**: well that was weird, FF's doc submission page was acting wonky.. either way, hope this chapter's format comes out well. but yeah, kinda put the spotlight on Soi Fon in this chap because.. well, it's Soi fon. she's one of my favorite female characters, really; a true badass in the heat of battle. (:

but anyway, there's one more chapter i'm submitting for tonight before i catch some Z's.  
ja ne!

***Heretic - Takahito Eguchi (Trinity Blood OST)/ Kagefumi - the GazettE/ Powerless - Linkin Park**


	8. Strong Resolve (One Blossom)

_**Strong Resolve (One Blossom)**_

* * *

"…If I were you, I'd fight the law!" He scowled determinedly at his gray eyes, surprising him.  
His gray eyes sombered in understanding.

"_IDIOTS, THE BOTH OF YOU!_" A sharp fist was delivered to both of their heads, making both men stagger.  
"**OW**!" They exclaimed in chorus.

Ichigo rounded on her, "oi, what the hell, Kita that friggin' **hurt**! What the hell happened to you bein' all worried and shit over Byakuya!?" He demanded hotly, glaring at her.

"It wasn't just **him** I was worried about, dumbass! I was worried about the **both** of you!" Kita fired back annoyedly, surprising him; she huffed and looked away, rubbing her arm gingerly. "I'm glad you're alive… Of course I still think you're a total dumbass-strawberry. But regardless, thank you for not killing my captain." She looked up at him and smiled warmly.

Byakuya rubbed his head gingerly, looking at her in mild surprise. She was thanking that _ryoka_ for sparing _his_ life?

His cheeks colored pink; he huffed and looked away shyly. "S-shut up…" He ignored her giggle, glancing over at the awaiting captain and his eyes lowered to hers, slightly nodding his head in the direction of his former enemy. "Go on, it looks like he's waiting for you." He met her blue eyes again.

She looked over at the injured noble that was her captain and blushed a little, smiling softly. "Yeah, all right. Thanks again, Ichigo." She patted his uninjured cheek lightly before turning to retreat to her captain's side.

His gaze softened when she came to him, lifting up as the softness in his eyes faded as they met those of the _ryoka_ who'd overcame his power. "Kurosaki Ichigo, your ferocity has broken my sword. I will pursue Rukia no more… The battle is yours." He reluctantly accepted his defeat, using his good hand to grasp hers before they both disappeared in a whisper of _shun-po_, leaving a stunned Kurosaki Ichigo in their wake.

* * *

He fought against flinching as she pulled his _shihakushō_ off, "I told you I was all right."

"Don't be stupid, you were dripping blood when you gave Ichigo the victory." She scowled stubbornly at him, gingerly pulling the sleeve off his injured arm. "I'd rather not see you die from infected wounds, you stubborn man." She declared; _of course, I'd rather not see you die period_.

He glanced up at her, a disgruntled scowl forming on his brow, before he cut his gaze away from hers, his muscles relaxing when she summoned her kidō into her palms and began healing him; he darted a second glance up at his third seat. "Since when did you learn how to heal?" He asked quietly.

"After I graduated from the Academy, Kiba tutored me in using healing kidō for a while when I was in Ichimaru's division; taught me the basics, though I'll admit that I'm not as expert at it as Isane-chan or Unohana-Taichō." She smiled humbly.

"It takes years to utilize healing kidō like Captain Unohana, I'd imagine… I'm surprised you've kept it a secret for so long, though." He looked up at her again, meeting her gaze and holding it, "But as a third seat of my division, you do fairly well." He supposed he should be praising her; being raised to be a blank face of calmness in public, he wasn't used to handing out praises, least of all to female subordinates.

Of course, Kita was a different case, as she'd always been since they were children.

She blinked and then blushed prettily, cutting her gaze to the left and then down at the lean muscles in his arm. "Since when are you so kind? It's almost scary seeing you like this." He wasn't like that before, even after he'd gotten married.

He shrugged, looking at a spot on the wall near him. "Since I began to realize that you were there to keep me sane for as long as we've known each other, especially so after Hisana passed. I never got the chance to thank you for caring about me, Kita." He smiled a tiny smile.

"Byakuya," the blush in her cheeks deepened; did he get conked on the head or something during the battle? _This is strange to see… Though even stranger, I like it. It's a much better side to him_…

A wild fluctuation of _reiatsu_ shook the first-aid station they were in, making the walls shake and some of the instruments drop to the floor, surprising them.

Her eyes widened as she distinctly felt her brother's _reiatsu_ weaken greatly, along with Ichigo and Renji's… But the _reiatsu_ that dwarfed theirs…!

"Kita, let's go." He shouldered his _haori_ on after slipping his arms back into the sleeves of his _shihakushō_, picking up _Senbonzakura_ from being propped against the wall, straightening to his feet.

She nodded and shrugged _Kuroyaibira_ over her shoulder, "right!"  
_  
Kiba, please hang on!_

::::::::x-x::::::::

His hazel eyes widened at seeing the clan-head drop to his knees, "Kuchiki…"

She jerked her stare from her brother's weary form to the imminent threat with the once calm and placating smile that charmed everyone and anyone he met; sunlight glinted from the hilt of his sword he held in hand.

"_**HADŌ 73: SŌREN SŌKATSUI**__!_" A wide blast of blue fire screamed at where the traitor captain was standing; surprising enough he dodged the mid-level kidō spell, landing expertly on his feet a few yards away from the Kuchiki siblings.

Aizen Sōsuke smiled serenely at their unexpected savior. "Third Seat Akatsuki, it's been a while since I've seen that pretty face." He drawled.

Akatsuki Kita glowered at him from behind a wordless Dankū spell, blue eyes livid. "Save the bullshit, you damn traitor; if you touch him again I'll rip you apart with my bare hands." She vowed as her voice had dropped to a dangerously below-zero tone, her shoulders shaking in her anger.

"Kita…" Rukia began quietly behind her in surprise, wincing slightly as her friend's _reiatsu_ flared in what she assumed was an intimidation tactic.

The smile twitched slightly, stretching a smidge in mild amusement. "Is that so…? I wasn't aware your love for Captain Kuchiki was so passionate." He mused aloud, undeterred when the angered woman growled a curse.

Twin streaks of black dropped in, slightly surprising the third seat, both preventing Aizen from drawing his zanpakutō.  
"Ah, now there's a face I haven't seen in a while." He mused calmly.

"Don't move: you so much as twitch a finger…" Yoruichi hummed dangerously.  
Soi Fon finished, "and you lose your head!"

The serene smile shifted to a smirk, "oh?"

A loud '_thud_' sounded as three giants –guards of the other three entrance gates, if she had to guess—dropped in, surrounding those gathered; her eyes narrowed as she caught the wicked expressions on their large faces, her _reiatsu_ spiking defensively.

"What; you managed to recruit them!?" Yoruichi spat in surprise, glancing from one giant to the other.

Kita glared at the one nearest her, lifting a hand to draw her zanpakutō, her fingers tightening on the fabric of her hilt.

"Now what will you do? Even you can't fight them while restraining me." Aizen hummed confidently.  
_  
If Kita draws her zanpakutō, she'll end up just like Ichigo and the others! Kita, please don't draw your sword_… Rukia vainly prayed as her friend's slender fingers began to slip the sword from its black scabbard positioned diagonally across her back.

A second '_thud_' sounded as the fourth giant –Jidanbō, if she remembered correctly—landed in the midst of the stand-still with a familiar clan-head on his left shoulder.

"K-Kūkaku-sama?" Kita blinked in surprise.  
_  
The head of the Shiba clan_… Kiba mused in likewise surprise as Yoruichi greeted the woman warmly.

"Yo, Yoruichi! I was bored so I came to watch the fun; let's go Jidanbō!" Kūkaku returned jovially, chanting an incantation before declaring, "_Hadō 54: Raikōhō!_" A wide and powerful beam of electricity screamed at one of the giants, sending him flying as the fourth gatekeeper sucker-punched the remainder of the trio.

Kita perked up when a surge of _reiatsu_ flooded the execution grounds as the rest of the Gotei 13, captains and lieutenants alike, appeared out of _shun-po_ and surrounded the trio of traitors. _Everyone… Everyone's here_… She glared at the caught Aizen, releasing her zanpakutō's hilt reluctantly.

"It's over, Aizen!" Yoruichi stated.

* * *

**A/N**: relax, we'll be seeing Mr. Drama-king soon. until then, ja ne! ^^


	9. Iron in, Iron out

_**Iron in, Iron out**_

* * *

"Third Seat Akatsuki, stay out of the way!"

"Iemura-san, please! Let me heal my captain!" She declared stubbornly, looking at the bespectacled third seat pleadingly.  
Reluctantly complying, the blonde subordinate turned to order members of another healing squad to tend to Renji.

She summoned her kidō again and began tending to his injuries, putting in a few laces of _reiatsu_ to hopefully heal him better than she had prior to the revealing of Aizen's true loyalties.

Kiba was being tended to by that Inoue girl that was one of the _ryoka_ so she didn't worry about him; her healing ability seemed pretty solid given that she was tending to not only her brother but Ichigo as well, so she didn't question it.

It was a few minutes later when he blearily looked at the faint blue glow coming from where she sat as she tended to his wounds, the glow illuminating the worried expression on her pretty face. "Kita…"

"Shh, don't talk, okay? You're still injured," she shushed him gently, relieved to hear a response from him (even moreso because he said her name instead of a noise of consciousness); she smiled warmly down at him.

"Your healing kidō is formidable enough to earn you a seat in the Fourth Division, Kita-chan." She blinked and glanced up to see the motherly smile from Unohana Retsu appear at her left side as she sat next to her.

Kita smiled shyly, heightening her kidō when she reached the recent wound he'd attained from Ichimaru's _Shinsō_ jab, her eyes on his blood-stained _haori_. "Thank you, Unohana-Taichō; I couldn't handle being in the Fourth, though, no offense intended. I love using a zanpakutō too much… And anyway, who would be there to keep my captain sane?" She laughed slightly, her blue eyes sombering as she looked at his almost-closed eyes, the smile faltering.

Unohana's cobalt eyes didn't miss the worry that appeared in her eyes, both women perking up when he quietly began asking for his sister-in-law; she looked over at the second concerned woman, "Kuchiki Rukia, come here please; Captain Kuchiki is asking for you."

Rukia blinked before complying and coming forward to kneel at her brother's side, slightly surprised when he extended a hand to her. "Onii-sama…"

"There's something I want to tell you, Rukia." Byakuya began quietly, perking his third seat's ears.

Kita eased her kidō when she noted most of his injuries looked better than before, staring at a particular stain of crimson on his chest as he told his sister-in-law the truth of how and why she had been adopted into the Kuchiki Clan, mostly on account of the fact that she looked eerily like Hisana. She smiled a little and kept her eyes away from his, looking down and at his gloveless hand.  
_  
I'm not like Hisana… Am I?_

::::::::x-x::::::::

His brow twitched slightly. "What're **you** doing in here, exactly? Shouldn't you be checking on your brother?"

"He's a grown man, he's perfectly fine. Rangiku's been visiting him anyway, so don't get huffy." She rebutted with a roll of her eyes. "Oi, and if you're going to spout some epic one-liner, then spit it out all ready! The silence is annoying."

The redhead carved a particularly-large chunk of wood out of the small plank he held, a vein twitching annoyedly on his temple. "How the hell can I say anything like that when **YOU'RE** still here!? It was gonna be something really cool I was gonna tell the Captain, and you're ruining the moment!" He exclaimed.

"Well _excuse me_ for interrupting your _**flowery fruitcake moment**, pineapple head!_" She snapped with a likewise vein twitching on her temple.

"_Wanna repeat that_…?" He growled out.

"Renji, enough." The up-until-then quiet patient spoke up between his second and third seats, silencing the second seat while the third seat stuck her tongue out childishly at him for being scolded. "Kita is permitted to stay in here for as long as she likes." He added calmly, making the woman blush slightly.

Renji deadpanned at his captain's not-so-subtle invite to his fellow subordinate, rolling his eyes. "Sorry. If you don't mind my asking, why are you pardoning her anyway? She's your third seat, not your lieutenant." He dared ask.

Byakuya spared his slightly-fidgety subordinate a soft and faint smile that Renji didn't seem to notice before he slid his eyes closed and answered confidently, "Because as of today I'm courting her."

"**HUH**!?" Renji barked as Kita blinked once before blushing furiously and looking away.

"B-Byakuya…" Kita began in a small voice, her cheeks beet red. _**Courting**!?_ Since when!? He must've been on a major morphine drip or Unohana put something in his medicine or something along those lines… Courting!? Her!?

"_**RENJI**__!_" A loud yell sounded from the window, making the only woman present yelp and jump from her seat on the edge of his bed before all three sets of eyes rounded on the head of bright orange hair in the window.

A vein twitched on her brow at not only being spooked but also having been given the news that she was going to be courted...  
_**THWACK**_.

"_DUMBASS-STRAWBERRY, __**WHAT THE HELL**__!?_" Kita shrieked angrily, glaring daggers at the former-_ryoka_ as a large pink bump swelled on the top of his head from her sharp punch.

"Ow… **FUCK, THAT HURT**!" Ichigo whined, scowling in pain at the angered woman whose cheeks were dark pink, a sign that he really shouldn't have just shouted randomly into Byakuya's hospital room window.

Renji snickered quietly at the large bump on his former-rival's head, smirking. "Oi, what's with you, Kurosaki?" He asked blandly.

"Oh yeah, do you happen to know where Rukia is? Inoue said she wasn't in her room…" He asked.

He groaned slightly, "Don't tell me you **lost** her! Did something happen?"

He sweatdropped, "Well, if you don't know where she is…" He made a gesture of backing off.  
"Um, Kurosaki-kun, you shouldn't be entering buildings through third story windows…" A voice grunted as the auburn head of Inoue Orihime popped up next to her friend, slightly baffling him.

"Inoue, how'd you get up here?" Ichigo blinked.

Kita rolled her eyes after having calmed, flexing her knuckles. "So you're Inoue, then. Your healing ability sure is interesting; I'm Kita." She introduced with a friendly smile, seeing the girl blink her doe-eyed brown eyes.

Inoue smiled back, "Oh, you're Akatsuki-chan! Um, thank you, and it's nice to meet you!" She said with a humble smile.

"Oi, since when're _you_ so friendly…?" Ichigo deadpanned, shooting her a look.

"Shut it, strawberry-boy! Go find Rukia before I kick your ass straight into the friggin' Dangai!" Kita snarled waspishly, a dark aura coming up from behind her as she glared at him pointedly.

He gulped silently and shuddered at the scary vibe she was giving off, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry; see you guys later!" He offered a small wave.  
"Sorry to bother you!" Inoue added before they both dropped from the windowsill and took off in search of the petite Kuchiki woman.

Renji sweatdropped. "Those two are weird…" He blinked at noting the pensive expression on his superior's face. "What is it, Captain?"

"It's nothing, but I wonder if he's going to insist on addressing me by my first name from now on…" Byakuya tapped his chin, gray eyes thoughtful.

The redhead looked confused; his third seat snorted at the expression on his face and resumed her seat on the bed, giggling. He scowled at her, "oi, what're you giggling about?"

She smiled cheekily, "your face."

Renji growled, "Oh yeah…?"

Byakuya deadpanned. "Before you two start another argument, perhaps it would be… good, if you were to visit Akatsuki, given he's still here, Renji." He interrupted again, making his lieutenant blink.

In retrospect he knew the courtship declaration was something his third seat seemed to be thinking on prior to the small intrusion; for all he knew, he would get an earful.

She was unpredictable sometimes.

"Oh, right. Guess I'll see you later, Captain." He complied reluctantly, ignoring the serene smile on her lips, as he turned to shuffle out of the room and leave the couple be.

She brushed locks of hair from her face, dangling her legs over the edge. "If I recall correctly, you were a little bit worse than Ichigo when we were kids." She mused.

He snorted and looked out the window. "Your memory mustn't be very accurate." He sniffed, pretending she didn't laugh softly even though it made his ears burn. He looked at her again, thinking back to his unofficial declaration of their courtship. "Kita, would you like me to court you? What I said infront of Renji wasn't a bluff or anything along those lines. I was being serious, just as I am now." He watched her hand freeze in picking at something under her right index finger's nail, her blue eyes blinking once.

Kita felt her cheeks burn again and she looked at her fingernails, huffing softly. "I knew you weren't bluffing; you don't know how to bluff, you haven't been able to since we were in the Academy. But at the same time, courtship wasn't something I'd have thought about, in all honesty." She looked at him and held his gray stare, her blue eyes soft. "It would be an honor to be courted by you, though; and it sounds like fun." She added with a small chuckle.

Byakuya smiled softly, taking her hand out of habit and looking down at her smaller hand in his larger one, running his thumb over the skin between her thumb and index finger. "I'm glad to hear that; I really am." He mused.

She nodded and smiled as well, scooting closer to stroke his cheek, blue eyes warm as her fingers grazed the unkempt locks of black hair on the left side of his handsome face. "Your hair looks better like this; I like it." She noted quietly.

He smiled wryly and took her chin in his hand, kissing her; she blushed and smiled against his lips, easing into the kiss and reaching to entangle her fingers in his black hair.

* * *

She knew he wasn't going to be too happy about this… But if everyone else was going, why couldn't she…?

He scowled slightly down at the ink splatter on his paper, putting the brush aside as her request soaked in. She wanted to go to the World of the Living with Hitsugaya's Advance Team; then again, he'd allowed Renji and Rukia to go, the latter especially moreso because she knew that orange-haired Shinigami better than anyone (which did still unsettle him if he dwelled too much on it…), and Hitsugaya, his lieutenant and fourth seat were also going, along with those two seated officers from the eleventh division. He inwardly sighed.

Sometimes he wondered about her sanity… Though perhaps she would get stronger with this, after all.

'_Why do you want to go, simply because everyone else is going?' He'd asked what felt like hours ago_ (which kind of was, in retrospect, because he'd told her he would think on it and reminded her that her reports were due before the end of the day).  
_  
She'd gotten that determined look in her eyes, the look that was another quality about her he found attractive, her blue eyes determined, 'Because I want to fight! I saw what Aizen did to Soul Society, how he screwed everything up for one solid week just so he could get out of here unharmed and claim that he was gonna take over the universe, but what he almost did to Rukia, and how he hurt my friends… And you, too… That's enough reason for me to do anything I can to crush him and his cronies. Please, Taichō, allow me to go to the World of the Living!' She'd bowed her head respectfully to him_.

And so now she stood before his desk, slightly fidgety, as he skimmed over her last report that was due.

Kuchiki Byakuya finally exhaled and signed off the report, placing it to the side and meeting her blue stare, holding it sternly. "I trust you to not get in over your head while in the human world. So long as you return in one piece, I'll allow you to go." He saw her face brighten up instantly as his words sank in, a smile tugging at his lips at seeing how cute she looked.

"Thank you, Taichō!" Kita zipped around the front of his desk to throw herself into his arms and embrace him tight, slightly surprising him.

He smiled slowly at her excitement, elated that she'd closed the door on his office, as his arms found her waist and he held her to his chest reflexively, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Don't get killed, whatever you do." He requested with a small squeeze on her waist.

She blushed slightly when his arms squeezed on her body, smiling into his hair and nodding, pulling back to kiss his cheek and smile confidently, "You got it."

Byakuya could only hope and vainly pray that his fiancé would come back to him safely.

::::::::x-x::::::::

"I'll get stronger and… the next time, I won't let them hurt you!"

"Do you know how sappy that was? Shit, you turned into an even _bigger_ dumbass since you came back home!" He yelped when her foot kicked him right in the backside, sending him forward.

She scowled patiently at him, her arms folded over her chest.

Her friend sweatdropped next to her, "I'm pretty sure the thrashing has already been taken care of, Kita…"

"Regardless, he deserves more of a wailing for choking up with those damn Arrancar!" She declared indignantly, pouting at her.

Ichigo rubbed his backside gingerly, whirling around to scowl at the third seat, her school uniform almost matching Rukia's except that she wasn't wearing the bow and the collar was unbuttoned by three notches. "Well I didn't see _you_ kicking their asses, Kita!" He barked.

Kita glared pointedly at him before snorting, poking his forehead with a finger. "Don't pin the blame on me; I was innocently and safely back home helping Rukia get her powers back to normal." She stuck her tongue out.

He scowled at her a moment longer before huffing, shooing her hand away. "So he let you come, then?" There wasn't much evidence, but he had a feeling something was going on between those two; the fact that said nobleman would be protective of his third seat didn't surprise him in the least.

"Yeah, it was a miracle he did; guess he figured Hitsugaya would be my babysitter when in retrospect it'd be between me and Rukia and the others to be the babysitter for **you**, strawberry." She shrugged calmly.

Ichigo felt a vein twitch on his brow, "Who the hell said I need a babysitter!?" He barked.  
_**  
THWACK**_.

"It was a unanimous vote on the way here; Rukia, Renji and I won by a landslide." Kita answered as she cracked her knuckles, ignoring the broken nose she'd given him.

Rukia sweatdropped; Inoue blinked awkwardly.

* * *

**A/N**: yes there had to be some comedy in this story, i mean, what's Bleach without comedy thrown into the medley? lol but anywho, sorry for not updating sooner, got caught up in an artistic flair and sketched out some stuff regarding Bleach. interested? feel free to peruse my gallery:

**http :: / bloodmoonhuntress . deviantart ** (86 the spaces tho)  
so until later, ja ne!  
oh yeah, feel free to review. so far this has only gotten one, and this shoutout is for you, **Alaria von Ravencroft**, **thanx for reviewing**! (: to the rest of you (_thanks for the boost in favs/follows, also~_) srsly, the **review** **button** isn't going to jump out of your screen and bite you. it's just a harmless little button. **no harm whatsoever**! lol anyway, stay beautiful!

***Iron - Within Temptation**


	10. Ibuki: Qué Suerte - SOL Mix

**_Ibuki: Qué Suerte – SOL Mix_**

* * *

"He's still there!"

The blonde ex-captain quirked a brow. "Hm…What could he want? I have no business with a lieutenant from Soul Society… Do you have an idea of why he's here, Akatsuki-chan?"

She sipped her tea aimlessly and shrugged, "Not sure; he dragged me over here after we had our strategy meeting at Ichigo's but he didn't wanna come in just yet… Renji's a weird monkey sometimes, though." She answered.

'_Why the hell didja bring me with you anyway?' She'd scowled at the redhead as he'd dragged her by the wrist for at least three blocks now, tugging on her wrist.  
He'd huffed, 'Captain Kuchiki requested that I keep you close by while we were here; just because he's courting you doesn't mean he's gonna let you get into trouble_…'

"You've obviously got something else on your mind if you've got that scowl on your face."

She blinked and looked up from her cup of tea to meet the second ex-captain's gold eyes; she quieted and scritched her cheek sheepishly as her senior female compatriot sat down across from her. "Well, not in so many words…"

Shihōin Yoruichi rolled her eyes and smirked kindly at the younger woman, "It's not Byakuya, is it?" Sometimes a woman just knew.

Kita blushed slightly and looked down at her half-empty cup, smiling. "Yeah, it is… But it's not like I have a problem with him, in general; he assigned Renji to be my babysitter and it's annoying. Just because he's courting me doesn't mean I'm some dainty flower. He let me come because he had faith in my ability… Sometimes he's such an enigma." She sighed and raised a hand to scritch the back of her head in annoyance.

"Courtship; wow, that's a big step, especially coming from the cocky spitfire he used to be when he was a kid." Both women laughed quietly at the memory before she leaned forward a bit on her elbows, gold meeting blue, "But if he's that protective over you it just means he loves you a lot, possibly more than his first wife… If he let you come to the frontlines, though, that basically means he wants to protect you but at the same time he has faith in your abilities." She shrugged. "He promoted you to his third seat, so if that isn't proof enough about how he feels about you, then I don't know what is."

She swirled the green tea in the ceramic cup absently, her cheeks slightly pink as she soaked in her words. "How the hell is it that we both know how he is too well at this point in time?" She wondered aloud.

She sat back and chuckled. "Because he's still that cocky spitfire he was when you two were kids."

Kita smiled warmly at the memories of her Academy days, laughing quietly. "He doesn't change, no matter what." _But so long as he's not sulky like he used to be after Hisana passed, as long as I can make him smile, I'm glad for just that_…

A sharp tremor of _reiatsu_ washed over both women gathered in the back room, surprising them.

"This _reiatsu_, it's so gritty…" She shook her head and looked to the front doors of the shop, sliding her eyes closed as she sought out the owners of such a strong feeling.  
_  
Five… __**Six**__!? Six strong!_  
"Shit."

"Kita, get back here!" Yoruichi barked as she popped a _gikōngan_ into her mouth and quickly ordered her _gigai_ to remain with the shop as she sprinted to the doors.

"This is what I came for, Yoruichi!" Kita hollered over her shoulder, throwing open the doors and rushing out into the night.  
_  
Guys, don't flake out on this; we were expecting this, we knew they would come. Now let's show them what we can do!_

::::::::x-x::::::::

Smoke rose up from the sharp tumble he'd taken with the ground after getting hit with a rough kick from that Espada's well-placed foot, debris flying and billowing in the night air after his wake.

"Hmph, you call that a bankai!? It only gives you average speed! You disappoint me, Shinigami; is that all you've got!? **Well**?" His adversary called down at the cloud on the asphalt, a grimace on his rugged features.

A sharp foot tapped his right temple, taking him by surprise, before he was sent flying to the side from the owner's love-tap.

His brown eyes widened slightly as she disappeared from her place in the air.

"You're right, he's been holding back for reasons you wouldn't dare understand. Why not let **me** take a swing at it in his stead?" She drawled coldly, reappearing infront of him, her zanpakutō held lightly over her left shoulder.

The Espada snarled quietly in annoyance at the female's cloaking of her _reiatsu_ until she'd given him that _oh so sweet_ love-tap, his blue eyes narrowed down at the black-haired woman shielding the pathetic redhead he'd up-until-then been deflecting as if he were a pebble; he straightened his posture and snorted. "Well ain't this sweet; it's nauseating." He sneered calmly.

"Kita, don't just stand there! This guy was looking for me, not you; take Rukia and get out of here… I don't want you to get involved in this!" Kurosaki Ichigo declared annoyedly behind her as he straightened to his feet, brown gaze hard.

Akatsuki Kita huffed and tilted her head back a smidge, her blue eyes calm. "You're in no condition to tell me to run, y'know. Your hollow is unstable; I can tell you're holding back, just as you were holding back that day you choked up and got your ass handed to you on a silver platter." She lowered her zanpakutō and turned her gaze back up at the Espada, her fingers gripping the hilt out of reflex. "Take Rukia and go; you two will only be targets if this gets hairier than it already has. Besides, this is what I came for." And with that she disappeared in a whisper of _shun-po_, leaving the angered and confused deputy Shinigami in her wake.

A loud '_klang_' rang out when the side of her katana's blade connected with the top half of his left arm; both sets of blue eyes regarded each other emotionlessly before his gaze turned away and he punted her off, sending her skidding back into the current on her heels.

This Shinigami didn't look like much of a threat, prolly as weak as that other one he'd punched through the stomach of, but her _reiatsu_ and well-placed blows spoke otherwise; a snort escaped him. "Since when did Shinigami take turns gettin' themselves mauled willingly?" He wondered dryly.

She smirked and chuckled quietly. "Who said I wanted to get mauled?" She zipped forward and swung at his belly, the smirk faltering when he caught her blade in time and brought it up and to the side, blue meeting blue once again. "Aizen must've wept happily when he realized your _hierro_ would be tougher than nails." She drawled.

He scoffed and smirked back, his knee lifting and propelling into her gut, sending her back again as he flexed his knuckles from the grip he'd had on her zanpakutō's blade; he was beginning to get bored with her. "Oi, if you're supposed to be third-strongest compared to that brat, ya sure as fuck are a disappointment." He declared.

"_Hadō 33: Sōkatsui!_" A wide jet of blue fire screamed at him, being deflected as he swung his right arm out and brushed it away; a loud '_klang_' rang out as blood flew from his slashed forearm.

Kita smirked even though her eyes were as cold as glaciers. "Sorry to be such a disappointment!" She scoffed as _Kuroyaibira_ snarled in the back of her mind, aching to be released.

The Espada huffed and smirked darkly; good, she wasn't a total loss. "So yer not just for show; ain't that a relief!" He disappeared in a buzz of _sonido_, surprising her.

She hopped out of the way of his would-be kick from behind, twisting on her heel to regard him with guarded eyes. "So what name do I carve on your broken zanpakutō?" She demanded quietly.

"Pfhah, fine, since it's prolly the last name you're ever gonna hear. _Sexta_ Espada, Grimmjow Jeagerjacques." He smirked amusedly when seeing the brief surprise register on her pretty face, flexing his fingers again, buzzing out of appearance in another _sonido_, taking the moment to reappear at her back and return the favor of her little love-tap. "I'd really not know the name of a soon-to-be **dead** **bitch**." His well-placed foot connected with the middle of her back as he sharply kicked and sent her flying to crash into the wall of an abandoned parking garage.

"Kita!" The redhead on the ground gritted his teeth as his brown eyes regarded the dust cloud with anger, the sneering laugh of both his inner hollow and Grimmjow making his blood boil beneath the surface.

Warm blood dripped to the concrete beneath her from the narrow gash to her left temple as she rose to her feet, her _reiatsu_ spiking as _Kuroyaibira_ roared angrily to be unleashed.

She slid her eyes closed, succumbing to her zanpakutō's wishes. "_Bankai_."

"Oi, you still wetting yourself in there, bitch? Come out, I'm not gonna hurt ya! I'm just gonna make you regret sticking your nose in a fight I was enjoying…" He called with a wicked grin on his lips.

"**Third Howl: Korosutsuki Kuro**!" A large red-tinged black beam screamed at him, sending the briefly-surprised Grimmjow sailing at least ten yards into the air.

"The name's not '_bitch_'. It's **Akatsuki Kita, **the** Third Seat **of** Sixth Division**."

Ichigo looked up at the reemerged third seat in surprise, his eyes glancing at the change in her standard uniform caused by her bankai but soon resting on the long black scythe she held in hand, the crimson crescent blade glinting moonlight off the blunt side. _Since when did she have a bankai? Is that why she seemed stronger than Ikkaku when we first met? Why the hell didn't she say anything about it!?_ "…Kita."

"_Sabikitta Kuroyaibira_ normally isn't my preferred choice of action in slaying my enemy, but since you're a special case and really _are_ just a _**glorified **__**hollow**_… This is the perfect weapon to rip you to shreds, Grimmjow Jeagerjacques." She drawled coldly, lifting the scythe by the staff and beginning to twirl the blade.  
_  
I didn't want to use this because the only people who know I have a bankai are Rangiku and Kiba and I'm pretty sure a third seat having achieved bankai is a no-no… But still, if I can get out of this alive, then it's worth it_.

A wide red doom blast screamed at her from the clearing dust, surprising her; she reacted quickly, "**Second Howl: Tsukijiei**!" The _cero_ connected with a tall rectangular barrier stained crimson, dissolving swiftly once it hit the protective shield.

Grimmjow panted slightly, glaring electric-blue daggers at the woman behind the red barrier, blood dripping from the slash cutting diagonally across his chest her attack had made; he'd narrowly dodged getting the brunt of that strange blast in his face by crossing both arms in an attempt to negate some of the raw power exhumed. He ignored the narrow gash on his left temple that bled freely and stained his skin, laughing blackly. "Not bad! Finally, you Shinigami are beginnin' to amuse me!" _Though that attack looked a helluva lot like a _cero_. Just what the hell was that? It was different than what that orange-haired brat used in Ulquiorra's report… It was stronger, and fuggin' __**ferocious**__. Since when do Shinigami have hollow-like attacks?_

He grinned at the prospect of fighting a stronger opponent, his hand lowering to the blue hilt of his own zanpakutō, seeing her visibly tense in her place, the scythe lifting up a little. "I wouldn't just stand there, Akatsuki; _now it's my turn!_" He proclaimed as he began to draw the katana.

A calm hand landed on the back of his left shoulder, surprising him; he glared over his shoulder at the visor-shielded blind eyes of Tōsen Kaname. "Tōsen!" He growled out.  
_  
Tōsen… what's he doing here? Did he come to stop Grimmjow from unleashing his _Resurrección_?_ She tightened her grip on the staff of _Sabikitta Kuroyaibira_ out of annoyance, narrowing her eyes.

"Sheathe your sword, Grimmjow." The ex-captain ordered softly with a slight furrow of his brow.

The bluenette shook him off and twisted away with a growl of irritation, "Why the _fuck_ are you here!?"

"'Why' you ask? I think you know why. You invaded the human world without permission, mobilized five Arrancars without authorization… and subsequently _lost_ all five of your subordinates. These are serious offenses. Lord Aizen-sama isn't pleased, Grimmjow." Tōsen returned to his original spot behind the riled Espada, pretending he didn't hear the soft snarl the irate Espada uttered under his breath at literally having his rights read to him.

Grimmjow glowered stiffly at his would-be kill, noticing that she was glaring daggers in return, but they weren't for his gaze (not entirely, anyway); _well fuck, we have somethin' in common_, he thought bitterly.

"Let's go, Grimmjow. Your punishment will be decided in Hueco Mundo." Tōsen drawled dismissively behind him, stirring him from his thoughts.

"Tch, fine." The bluenette clicked his tongue and turned reluctantly to follow his superior, ripping a line in the air as a _garganta_ zipped open before them, nothingness awaiting the two tense men.

Kita spat after his retreat, blue eyes cold. "Go kiss Aizen's ass, Tōsen. You'll be dead one way or another when Soul Society crushes you and your god." She vowed softly.

"Don't get cocky, third seat. Just because you have such a powerful bankai doesn't make you immortal or invincible." Tōsen rebutted calmly.

"**W-wait**!" She perked up as Ichigo came up to stand alongside her, slightly surprised; his brown eyes were on the retreating Espada. "Where're you going!?" He barked.

The Espada glanced back at him disdainfully, "Shut up, we're goin' back to Hueco Mundo."

"What!? You can't come here and attack us and then just leave! Come back here: we're not finished yet!" Ichigo snarled desperately.

Kita glanced at him empathetically; _Ichigo_…

Grimmjow paused, turning slightly to glare at him. "'Not finished'? Gimme a fuckin' break**: Tōsen just saved your life, Shinigami**." He ignored the shock on the boy's face. "It's obvious yer afraid of using your bankai at its full extent because of whatever the hell's ailing you. You're pathetic, lettin' that woman fight me instead of doin' it yourself! Even if you **could** grow a pair of balls and use that bankai at maximum power, you still couldn't defeat me while in _Resurrección_." He smirked darkly at the baffled expression on his brow.

She furrowed her brow slightly; _so he __**was**__ holding back, then. If that's the case, and he's at least three times stronger in _Resurrección_, then I might owe Tōsen for stepping in when he did_.

"'_Resurrección_'?" Ichigo repeated quietly.

Grimmjow huffed and turned about to face him again as he stepped into the portal, "Don't forget my name, and pray you never hear it again… Grimmjow Jeagerjacques!" His dark smirk turned into a likewise grin as the _garganta_ began to close. "**The next time you hear that name, you're dead meat, Shinigami**!" He vowed before the portal shut and the night sky remained the same as if it hadn't been ripped open several minutes ago.

Kita exhaled softly when the tension ebbed away, flicking her wrist as the scythe faded to be replaced with the simple katana; she wiped the smudged blood from her forehead gingerly, wincing a little at noting the injury was on the mend.

Both Shinigami descended to the concrete wordlessly, sheathing their respective weapons.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a bankai?" Ichigo broke the silence first, looking down at her.

Kita looked down briefly, brushing some of her wavy locks back. "Because the bond between my zanpakutō and me was strong enough and I'd already learned _Kuroyaibira_'s shikai after I graduated the Academy, I achieved bankai a decade ago. To be honest, Kiba and Matsumoto are the only ones who knew about it until tonight." She lifted her gaze to hold his own in something he recognized to be sympathy, a small smile playing at her lips. "Are you all right?" She wondered.

He quieted and looked at the sky where the bluenette had called him out only minutes ago, huffing quietly. "Just pissed off." He answered in the same tone.

She nodded slightly, perking her ears as Renji came forward from out of his own battle, apparently, judging by the scratches and bloodstains he wore.

"So, the Arrancars returned to Hueco Mundo, huh?" Renji mused, noting his fellow redhead didn't say anything, earning a concerned glance from the only woman present. "You won."

Ichigo stared at the sky again, "I _lost_."

His small brown gaze tightened, "dumbass; if you're alive, then you won…"

"Stop; you know better." He corrected quietly, "If you were me, you'd feel the same. I didn't protect anyone… I couldn't defeat our enemies. I lost… to Grimmjow!" He spat his name as if he tasted acid.

Kita looked at the sky before she slid her eyes closed and turned to retreat to the Urahara Shop.  
"Regardless, everyone remained alive, despite their injuries. Be grateful you can pick up your sword one more day and stop feeling sorry for yourself. You toppled enough captains, lieutenants and high-ranked officers back in Soul Society ontop of defeating Byakuya, and stand here to breathe another breath. Don't make that face, either… Please, Ichigo." She continued to walk, leaving both redheads in her wake.  
_  
Aizen will pay for what he's done, this I swear_.

* * *

A sweatdrop formed on her temple.

"Matsumoto, are you sure Inoue won't mind you guys dragging this oversized monitor into her apartment?" She asked hesitantly, looking at the fleshy frame around the screen and lifting a brow at her old friend.

The busty lieutenant smiled lightly at her, further inciting the doubtful look in her blue eyes. "Of course not, Orihime-chan is too sweet to say no!" She said.

Kita rolled her eyes and felt the slightest amount of pity for that human, noting the bandage covering the cut on her temple and the green cargo pants, black sneakers and slate tank top that had the nihongo for '**Punk**' scrawled across her moderately-sized bust in yellow letters in the screen's reflection; she exhaled. "God help that poor girl." She muttered.

"Whoa, awesome…" Both women blinked at hearing the voice of the apartment's resident before the taller blonde zipped around to escort the young woman out; the pipsqueak captain deadpanned as the third seat rubbed her temples gingerly. "N-no, no, no, wait! What is that, Tōshirō!?" The girl flailed.

"Talk about bad timing…" Kita grumbled as the people on the opposite end of the connection seemed to respond to the signal on their end.

"This is Captain Hitsugaya Tōshirō of Tenth Division." Hitsugaya declared.

It took a moment before the visage of Sōtaichō Yamamoto appeared on the screen, slightly surprising Inoue. "The Head-Captain…?" She began.  
"That was fast work, Captain Hitsugaya. I asked you to set up this emergency link for an important reason: we've uncovered Aizen Sōsuke's true objective!" All three members of the Gotei 13 in the room perked up alertly at the news.

"'Aizen's true objective', sir?" Hitsugaya repeated.

The Head-Captain nodded gruffly, "Indeed."

Inoue blinked and offered a weak smile, "Oh, um, this sounds pretty serious, so I'll be going…!" She began to exit the room.

"Wait; this concerns you humans as well. Stay and listen." Yamamoto stopped her as she turned back and nodded. "It's been one month since Aizen escaped; the Fifth Division Captain's room, the underground chamber of Central 46, and the Daireisho-Kairo Great Archive are still being examined. It's been grueling work; those locations are generally off limits, few captains have any idea of what's inside them."

Tōshirō again, "What exactly is going on, Sōtaichō; what is it you want to tell us?"

"Very well. Ukitake, while investigating the Great Archive, made an unusual discovery the other day: he found records that certain documents related to the Hōgyoku had been accessed, then he found that two days before Aizen's disappearance, a body of literature completely unrelated to the Hōgyoku had also been accessed." He continued.

She had a bad feeling about what they'd unearthed; "'Literature' about what?" Hitsugaya wondered.

The graveness of the matter showed more prominently on his aged face as he answered, "The _Ōken_."

Hitsugaya perked up alertly as Kita and Rangiku stiffened slightly in response; Inoue looked on in confusion.  
"'_Ōken_'… What's that?" She repeated quietly.

Matsumoto turned to her to explain what it was, "The royal key. Soul Society has its own royal family, but they let Central 46 run Soul Society and never interfere with our operations; none of us has ever actually seen them."

"Indeed, the King's name is Reiō; he's a symbolic yet revered figure in Soul Society. The Royal Palace exists in a different dimension from Soul Society, a royal security corps guards it… The _Ōken_ opens the gate to that dimension." Yamamoto declared grimly.

"That bastard," Kita grumbled in regards to Aizen, narrowing her eyes at the floor, as Inoue realized what Aizen's intentions were in regards to the Royal Key.

"… Wants to murder the king; that, I believe, is his true purpose… However, it is not the immediate threat."

His teal eyes tightened, "does the book Aizen was looking at show the location of the _Ōken?_"

"No; that secret has been passed down orally by the Captain-Generals of the Gotei for generations… what he accessed was literature documenting the creation of the _Ōken_. He knows how it was made."  
"Then he could've already made his own _Ōken_." Rangiku hypothesized.

"No, it's not that simple. The immediate problem is the raw material he needs. To create an _Ōken_, one-hundred thousand souls and a _jūreichi_ nine-point-six miles in diameter are required."

"… One-hundred thousand souls?"

"Yes, but the souls aren't our only concern: a _jūreichi_ is an unusual phenomenon in the human world, it's location changes every time. It is a spiritually charged area to which spirits are drawn… Now do you see? The _jūreichi_ that Aizen is after is…"

"Karakura Town." Kita finished softly, noting the girl's pallor paled slightly when hearing the words.

He nodded. "Indeed. Perhaps one-hundred thousand souls and a _jūreichi_ are a bit too abstract: but to put it simply, if Aizen completes the _Ōken_ as indicated in the literature, Karakura and its people –all of them— will be carved out of this world and erased from existence."

The girl shivered slightly; she patted her shoulder gently, looking at the wizened Head-Captain. "Sōtaichō, there's a way to stop him from causing hell, isn't there?" She asked calmly.

He nodded, "very sharp of you, third seat. Yes, we will find a way: that is why the Gotei 13 exists."

Inoue looked up in something she assumed was awe, earning a couple of soft smiles from both women present.

"Thankfully, we have a little time; according to Kurotsuchi, the _Hōgyoku_ remains in a dormant state after it is removed from a soul. We believe it requires four full months to completely awaken, and until then, Aizen cannot assemble his army… But then he will make his move. The battle will come in winter; until then, sharpen your skills and prepare for battle!" Yamamoto declared with a sharp tap of his cane on the floorboards in his office.

"_Hai!_" Kita, Rangiku and Tōshirō nodded curtly in obedience.

"Inoue Orihime, what Aizen wants is in your world: that is too large an area to handle by ourselves. You humans will have to help us so please inform Kurosaki Ichigo." He added, perking her ears.

Inoue nodded, "Yes, sir!"

Rangiku turned to walk away, "then I'll go inform Ikkaku and the others, Captain-General."

"Wait for me," Kita began to follow her as Hitsugaya voiced his agreement to go with her to inform those on their advance team.

"Hitsugaya, Akatsuki, wait a moment," both aforementioned officers looked at him, "there's someone here who's been waiting to talk with you, Hitsugaya; Akatsuki, your captain is wishing to speak with you, as well, after Hitsugaya speaks with his visitor."

She blinked in surprise; Byakuya wanted to talk with her? She nodded and saluted him lazily, "sir." She looked at the shorter captain and smiled. "I'll be outside." She followed Rangiku and Inoue out of the apartment, waving them goodbye as she paused short of the balcony and looked out at the buildings around her.

A soft breeze stole past her, playing with her wavy hair; she slid her eyes closed and concentrated on that strawberry's _reiatsu_.  
He'd been absent the last few days, according to Rukia, and it left her friend worried; of course it worried her as well, not as much as it did the younger Kuchiki, but either way...

'_**I didn't protect anyone, I couldn't defeat our enemies… I lost**_…'

Her blue eyes darkened slightly as his words replayed in her head. _Tch, idiot; get strong enough to take back what you said_… She looked up at the passing clouds overhead. "Get stronger so you don't have to make her worry anymore, baka-strawberry." She said softly to the clear day.

"Kita, you're up."

She blinked and looked over her shoulder at the white-haired prodigy, pausing when noting the somber light in his young face; she nodded, patting his shoulder with a hand before slipping inside the apartment as he took her place outside on the balcony, appearing before the monitor, the screen fuzzy with static.

The screen turned back on with the visage of Kuchiki Byakuya on the opposite end; her face brightened and she smiled softly.

"I see you've adapted to the… fashion sense, of the human world." He spoke first, stealing the chance for her to open her mouth, making her blink.

She blushed a little as he seemed to note her tank top more than the rest of her outfit, allowing a slow grin to form on her lips as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Are you _flirting_, Taichō?" She teased.

The normally-stuffy nobleman cut his gaze away as she giggled softly, his ears burning even though he darted another glance at her, damning whoever had given her that shirt to the lowest pits of hell for what it was doing to his… _composure_. "Don't patronize me; I simply wanted to see how you were faring and to see that you were keeping your promise, not to get heckled so early in the afternoon." He groused.

Kita chuckled softly, smiling again and crossing her arms over her chest. "Aww come on, I haven't seen you in almost a week! Y'know I miss you…" She quieted once the words slipped out of her mouth and looked away briefly, her cheeks warming; seeming to shake out of it and regain herself, she looked at him again, gray meeting blue. "But to business! So far, so good, actually. Rukia's doing fine as well, and Renji is… well, Renji." She shrugged innocently.

He shook his head softly, a tiny smile tugging at his lips. _I miss you too_… "I heard on the wind that the Hitsugaya Advance Team sustained an ambush from Aizen's Espada. That would explain that bandage on your forehead." She winced a little at being ratted out, her cheeks warming as she looked down and to the left, raising a hand to rub her arm.

"Taichō…" She began.

"You fought well, apparently… And I'm glad that you're still standing." _Even moreso because I can see your smile again_. He watched the surprise register on her pretty face, fighting the smile that threatened to stretch across his lips.

She nodded and then grinned good-naturedly, the blush staining her cheeks a light pink hue. "Thanks, Taichō." _I'm glad to see you again, as well_. "Um, I guess I'd better not keep you away from work. I've got to get stronger too, if things are going to get hairier than they were when the Espada ambushed us." She smiled softly, a smile for him, poking her chest with a thumb. "Relax, though; I'm not gonna overdo it."  
_  
I'll fight if not to keep both worlds from falling, then to remain at your side for as long as I can_.

Byakuya blinked once before his slate-gray eyes softened at her determination and confidence; _there's my girl_. "In that case, give them hell." He smirked bemusedly.

Kita nodded again, grinning, "Yes, Captain!"

* * *

**A/N**: whew, first Espada encounter! i'm sorta happy with how the fight scene came out, even tho Kita stole Ichigo's thunder (so to speak). i still support GrimmIchi, don't get me wrong, but.. well i had to. it was hard to resist! xD lol incase anyone is wondering why i decided to let Kita have a swing at fighting Grimmjow, well, because it's Grimmjow. period! i mean, how can you **NOT** pit a shinigami against an Espada, much less an Espada as wild and dangerous as our favorite kitty? xD yeah, i went there /_gets _cero_'d_

so tell the truth, did i screw it up? did i give Grimmy enough justice? **i'm dying to know what you think**! 0|

***Ibuki - the Yoshida Brothers**  
** _qué suerte_ = "lucky you" / _SOL_ = shit. outta. luck. (c'mon, even i knew that one, and that was before i dubbed the chapter with it! lol); _Sol_ = sun (pun if you don't think the acronym thoroughly |D)


	11. Cherry Bombs

_**Note: **no** **lemons** were made in the creation of this chapter. just smutty fluffiness = 3=_

* * *

**_Cherry Bombs_**

* * *

_He'd pouted playfully as she'd stood before the senkaimon, folding his arms behind his head. 'Don't have too much fun; remember, you're only visiting him for a day.' They'd need all the help they could get if Aizen sent out another scout party._

_She'd chuckled and saluted him lightly, winking, 'Yeah, yeah; later, Onii-san!' She'd grinned before turning to step into the gate, the wooden doors closing on him as he'd watched his sister depart from the World of the Living_…

The door to his office opened, perking his ears as he was preparing to retire for the day and return to his mansion for the night; he didn't get the chance to address his guest as a streak of black flew in and threw a pair of slender arms around his neck as his own arms snagged on his guest's small waist.

Byakuya looked into the bright clear blue eyes of his third seat, the happy grin forming on her lips. "Kita." He hadn't been informed of her arrival, much less that she'd came home through a senkaimon; he made a mental note to ask her later about that, even though he half-guessed she'd cloaked her _reiatsu_ and had felt like surprising him.

Kita chuckled, the grin remaining. "Missed me?" She hummed.

He slipped one arm free of her waist and used his fingers to lift her chin, guiding her into a kiss that nearly crushed her lips with his own; he felt her shudder against him as her arms around his neck squeezed on his scarf, a grin finding its way to his lips as he pressed a second kiss onto her, the second one eager and needing, his own body shuddering at having her in his arms again.

_She was here, she was safe, and she was in his arms; that's all that mattered_.

Her lips pulled away from his as she panted slightly, flushed, lips tingling from his sudden kisses, exhaling a quiet laugh of relief; he inwardly groaned when she broke the kiss, his arms tightened possessively around her waist.

She squeaked when his lips found her neck, kissing a trail to her shoulder; she squirmed against him and blushed darkly, digging her nails into his back reflexively, squeaking a second time as he nibbled on the spot on her neck behind her left earlobe, mewling softly.

Byakuya couldn't help but chuckle at the noises she made; the ever-strong tomboy third seat was mewling and blushing like a schoolgirl virgin at his advances.

_Virgin_… He doubted she was anything but; the thought of another man touching her made his blood boil and threatened to make him homicidal.  
No, she was his, as she'd always been, and there was no way in hell he'd let any other man take her.

"S-stop laughing," Kita breathed reproachfully, failing to keep the element due to the position he'd placed her in, retracting in his arms to puff her cheeks out and scowl up into his gray eyes.

He smirked coyly, his fingers playing with the white sash of her pants. "Does it bother you?" He wondered; who knew her month-long absence would cause such emotions inside him? He hadn't felt so affectionate since Hisana.

She blushed darkly again and cut her gaze to the side, playing the tomboy once more. "Piss off." She sniffed.

_No, Kita was far from Hisana; she was strong and bull-headed, and damn it all he wanted her_.

Byakuya chuckled under his breath and kissed her gently, baffling his subordinate, letting her ease back into the kiss as his arms pulled her closer to his chest, his fingers tugging on the collar of her _shihakushō_ when he once again paid more attention to her neck, feeling her sigh against him and then arch her back, this time uttering a soft moan instead of the mewling noises from earlier, her fingers tugging on his black hair gently as her moans made him shiver and pull her closer until the space between them was gone.

She opened her eyes sharply when feeling something on his lower half rubbing against her concealed crotch, heat flooding her cheeks and making them turn scarlet as she put two and two together and realized that she now had an aroused Kuchiki Byakuya on her hands.  
_  
Crap...!_

::::::::x-x::::::::

Sunlight streamed onto her pillow, hitting her in the eyes; she grimaced and pulled her arm to shield her eyes, groaning.  
_  
What happened last night…?_

A protective arm around her waist squeezed, making her eyes fly open; she blushed as she realized just who owned the arm that was wrapped around her, and just who was sleeping soundly at her back.

She lifted her head slightly to blush again when seeing the sleeping form of her fiancé holding her close to his chest; her eyes softened slowly as she noted the peaceful expression on his handsome face, the unkempt black hair that was slightly mussed from sleeping (at least that's what she hoped).  
_  
Kiba mentioned I was only permitted to stay for one day… Well damn_.

Gingerly shuffling to try and sit up, she felt the heat return to her cheeks as she noted that neither of them were wearing clothes; _damn it_, she thought, nearly jumping away when he stirred next to her.

Cracking open his gray eyes, he looked at where his arm had been before looking up at the blue eyes of his fiancé, noting that her cheeks were dark pink and seemed to be getting redder.  
_  
Damn it, this wasn't supposed to happen_…

"Morning." She said quietly, jerking him from his thoughts.

He exhaled and glanced briefly at the healing bitemarks on her neck he could see past the black locks of her bangs, smiling to himself. "Morning."

Kita pouted when catching his smile, furrowing her brow. "What's so funny?"

"It's nothing." Byakuya sat up slightly, catching the flash of pink returning to her cheeks, rubbing his neck and noting that she wasn't the only one with bitemarks. "I suppose I missed you more than I thought I did." He mused aloud.

She coughed awkwardly and looked at her lap covered by the sheets, blushing more. "The feeling was mutual…" She tucked strands of hair back from her cheek, glancing up at him. "This wasn't supposed to happen, was it? Waking up in bed together?" _Much less spending the night prior screwing the daylights out of each other_, she inwardly added, clasping her hands in her lap.

"No, it wasn't." He relented quietly, noting the slightly sad light that appeared in her pretty face; he ran a hand through her hair, surprising her slightly, tracing his thumb over her cheek softly, as he met her blue eyes. "Though I can't say I regret it." He added if only to take a stab at comforting her.

Kita blushed again and smiled slowly, holding his hand to her cheek. "I don't regret it, either. Not like I expected this yet, at least not while you're supposed to be courting me, anyway." She laughed weakly.

"Fair enough; though I suppose I never acted the perfect gentleman around you in days past, really." Byakuya smirked slightly as he recalled the various arguments they'd get into when they were younger.

"Nope, and you're the head of the Kuchiki Clan!" She giggled.

They both laughed quietly at the small joke.

She glanced at the oncoming day outside and smiled to herself, glancing at the perch where _Senbonzakura_ rested, _Kuroyaibira_ propped up against the wall next to his zanpakutō. "Kiba expected me back soon, back in the World of the Living." She noted aloud, perking his ears.

He frowned slightly at the prospect of their morning being ruined by that reminder, briefly cursing his future brother-in-law, following her gaze to the two resting swords. "At least he didn't ban you from coming back for the day. Though his untimely intrusion in our morning together is rather irritating." He mused in a slightly disgruntled tone, seeing her perk up slightly.

She smiled fondly, looking at him. "'Our morning'… That sounds nice." _Even though 'our morning' should've been reserved for the morning after our wedding night_, she inwardly mused, hearing her zanpakutō chuckle in the back of her mind.

He smiled as well, blinking when she then shuffled away to gather the unused sheets around herself and straighten to get her discarded clothes; his eyes followed her calm pace and the defining curve of her hips she hid with the sheets as she found her _shihakushō_ top.

Kita pouted slightly after shrugging her top back on, looking for her pants and blinking when he held up her discarded bottoms; she smiled fondly again and took them from his hand, turning about to let the sheets drop as she shrugged them back on, securing the sash at her waist and stooping to grab his own pants, tossing them at his head.

Byakuya scowled in mock annoyance when the article of clothing fell into his lap, hearing her giggle and seeing her smirk lightly before turning about to let him put his pants on with a small sigh.

She lifted _Kuroyaibira_ from resting against the wall, smiling to herself at the red-clothed hilt of her old friend, blinking when he tugged on her sash from behind, bringing her back to his chest and surprising her as he slid his arms around her lower belly; she blushed and looked up into his gray eyes, one arm lifting to tip her chin and guide her into a kiss.

He felt her sigh slightly against him, releasing her sword of one hand to bring it up to curl her slender fingers in his black hair, her lips reciprocating happily against his, her back arching and making his arm around her belly tighten to press her closer to him, a small groan escaping him when her hips met his, hearing her squeak slightly.

Kita blushed and pulled back reluctantly, kissing the side of his neck before turning to fix his _shihakushō_'s collar, tugging the lapels closed and releasing the scabbard of her sword of her second hand, smiling tenderly at his gray eyes.

Byakuya smiled back, stealing another kiss from her before he let her pull away from him, ignoring his dismantled composure's nagging voice in the back of his head to properly _greet her_ in the morning. "You'd better get going; your brother's probably pacing because you're not back yet." He mused, reluctant to send her back out to the frontlines.

"I know, he's kinda snippy about that." She chuckled, shrugging _Kuroyaibira_ over her shoulder and embracing him tightly, nuzzling his cheek and letting him squeeze on her hips tightly, knowing he didn't want her to leave so soon; she kissed his neck softly, smiling. "I'm coming back to you; I promise." She vowed quietly, feeling his arms squeeze on her middle back possessively.

He nodded and kissed the side of her head, closing his eyes briefly. "I look forward to seeing you back here when this over." He amended.

Kita smiled again and reluctantly slipped out of his arms to head to the door, happier than she'd felt in a long time. "Kita." She looked over her shoulder at him, meeting his gray eyes as he was pulling his _haori_ on over his shoulders.

Byakuya leveled her a stern look that reminded her of his rank in their division, as well as his high position in society. "Don't get yourself killed out there, and return here in one piece." He smirked fondly for a moment, "I doubt you want to be considered the damsel and have your _prince charming_ rescue you from a situation you got yourself into." He added.

She blushed slightly and then grinned, chuckling. "You'd _love_ that, wouldn't you?" She laughed quietly, her blue eyes confident. "Don't worry, I'm gonna be here for as long as possible just to keep your ego from getting any larger, Kuchiki Byakuya." She turned about to head out of the room and make her way to the front doors of the Kuchiki Mansion.

He shook his head softly and laughed to himself, smiling fondly. "You never change."

* * *

"Yumichika, Matsumoto!" The bald Shinigami exclaimed, squirming and wriggling in the tight grip the Arrancar's _Resurrección _had on him, grimacing at being in the disgusting hold of such a prick.

The effeminate-looking Arrancar let his violet eyes linger on the strawberry-blonde that he'd also ensnared in his _Trepadora_, smirking, "Y'know, lady, you've got a really killer body; damn it's so fine… Maybe I'll poke it full of holes."

A sharp '_shunk_' sounded, surprising both the Arrancar and the lieutenant; his eyes sharpened in pain.

"**Get your fucking tentacles off my girl**." Akatsuki Kiba growled icily at his back, hazel eyes pissed, as his katana's blade was rammed through the Arrancar's back and extended grotesquely through his left kidney.

"Kiba!" She declared in relief, perking up when a jet of red energy severed the tentacle holding her, shrugging out of the limp limb's hold as he yanked the blade out of his enemy's side, hopping back to land on the air current.

The newly-christened _Sexta_ coughed a wad of blood and then twisted about to glower at the hazel-eyed brunette. "Bastard! How dare you!?" He hissed.

Flicking his wrist he summoned his shikai without need of command, the long _yari_'s blade glinting sunlight. "Well the answer's simple enough: you try to make my girl a walking pin-cushion and your skull is going to be crushed by my bare hands." His _reiatsu_ began to flare wildly as he lowered the staff of _Hakuryūjin_, the narrow eyes of the dragon head melded onto the base where the blade extended glowing vibrantly green. "Five against eight seems a fairer probability, doesn't it?"

"_Hadō 31: Shakkahō!_"

A red fireball whizzed past his ear as he dodged it narrowly, twisting about again to greet the newcomer.

"How about six against eight?" Akatsuki Kita called leisurely, smirking. "You really picked the wrong day to piss me off." She purred, disappearing in a whisper of _shun-po_ and surprising him.

Kiba pouted and chuckled despite the danger around them, "I see things went swimmingly back home." He mused, watching the Arrancar swing out twin tentacles only to have them severed swiftly by her katana, blood flying, hearing their cornered enemy swearing in pain at having his tentacles cut.

"You overly-cocky **slut**!" The _Sexta_ snarled as he sent four more tentacles sailing at where she would land.

"_Sing, Benihime_." A sharp jet of red energy that had severed the tentacle binding Rangiku did the same to the quartet of tentacles that almost got ahold of the fleet-footed third seat, surprising the Arrancar. "Really now, trying to put the moves on dearest Akatsuki-chan!"

Kita appeared out of _shun-po_ to look over at the green eyes of the ex-captain Urahara Kisuke; she smirked lightly. "Still adept at chivalry, ne, Kisuke-san?"

A sharp jolt of _reiatsu_ came from downtown, perking her ears; she looked over in that direction, a slight furrow of her brow showing. "Ichigo." _That had to be his _reiatsu_; it's not as gritty as it was a month ago, but it's calmer, for some reason… has he gained control over his hollow? And the second _reiatsu_, that has to be Grimmjow… It figures he'd come back to "check on" him_… "Damn it."

"Kisuke, head's up!" She looked about to see a blonde Arrancar sail forward at Kisuke, missing as the ex-captain narrowly dodged and darted to the side in time; she scowled slightly at the new face.  
_  
Another one? Great_.

Her brother perked up alertly as a red blast from behind knocked the ex-captain out of the way, gripping the staff of his shikai reflexively. _A _bala_? Well crap_.

"… It's not as strong as a _cero_, but it's twenty times faster!" The larger Yammy Llargo laughed as he sent several bouts of _bala_s down at the supposedly-felled Urahara Kisuke.

"_Hadō 31: Shakkahō!_" Four fireballs sailed at the taller Espada, making him pause and look over at the caster, beady eyes regarding the fourth seat blandly.

Kiba smirked, resting the staff of _Hakuryūjin_ against the back of his neck, hands dangling aimlessly over the pole. "Aren't you a bit of a dumbass elephant to be braggin' about speed?" He hummed, hazel eyes cocky.

Yammy snorted and grinned darkly in response, his beady black eyes locking on the brunette as he began charging another _bala_ in his right hand. "Big words comin' from such a twinkle-toed _insect!_" He thrust both fists out at him, sending a round of six _bala_ at the brunette.

Something sharp ripped into his left shoulder as the Shinigami reappeared out of _shun-po_ at his back, the spear resting against his right shoulder, hazel-green eyes listlessly staring forward. "Big-mouthed fuckers like you and your kind disgust me." Blood flew from the slash he'd delivered, making the hulking Espada snarl in pain and slightly double over, crimson staining the pure white fabric of his coat.

"Y-you little… fucker…" The _Décimo_ growled lowly, annoyance shifting to anger as it slowly obliterated the shock that he'd been cut, his _hierro_ ripped open by a Shinigami's shikai.

Kita glanced over her shoulder at where her brother had been dealing with the hulking Espada, a pout forming. "That's not fair, he got to fight the bigger one… Onii-san has all the luck!" She groused under her breath.

A cracking of ice sounded as she returned her attention back to the felled _Sexta_, his _Trepadora_ diminishing under the frozen fury that belonged to Hitsugaya Tōshirō's _Daiguren-Hyōrinmaru_.  
_  
Kuroyaibira_ snorted, seeming catty, '_oi so why the hell did we come here? They obviously didn't need a second hand_.'  
_  
Back-up is back-up, Kuro_, she reminded silently.

"What… They got Luppi!? Damn it, that's what you get for underestimating them, y'little prick! If we don't take care of these guys…" Yammy swore as he began to leave the slightly-dinged-up Akatsuki Kiba to avenge his comrade.

"_'Lord Aizen-sama will punish us~_'." Urahara Kisuke sang lightly behind him, making the _Décimo_ freeze in place and whirl about in shock.

Kiba huffed and grinned slowly, "Figures you'd have another "magic trick" up your sleeve, Kisuke."

* * *

**A/N**: honestly, i feel very satisfied with this chapter. period.  
aside from that, **drop a** **review**, guys, srsly. summer's not here yet and there's all ready a dry spell with love for this fic.. wtf? 0:  
thanks for reading, tho, those of you who've faved and followed this story, i can't thank you enough for taking the time to read it.

also, hopefully i didn't over-expand on the second ambush scene in vol 26.  
anyway, ja ne! (:


	12. Natives - Forced My Hand (Solo Act)

**_Natives – Forced My Hand (Solo Act)_**

* * *

A light knock sounded on his door, stirring her from her thoughts; she looked up at her friend. "How'd you get in?" She wondered as she stepped inside his room.

She shrugged, glancing at the sleeping redhead. "Turns out Isshin-san knows Kiba; guess they used to be old drinking buddies or something. Either way, he let me in." She answered, meeting her violet eyes with a slight smile, shrugging the bag from the store to the crook of her left elbow as she neared his bed. "How's he doing?"

"Small world, I suppose. He's still sleeping off the healing that Ushōda-san performed after the fight with Grimmjow." Her eyes rested on his wrist that was bandaged from the fight, the memory of almost losing her head to the _Sexta's cero_ vivid before she looked at the screen of her phone. "I can't get through to Inoue; she was still in Soul Society when I hurried over here." She relented with slight concern lacing her voice.

She looked at his peaceful face and smiled a little, nodding. "Kiba told me about the Vizards one time, a while back; he was acquaintances with Hirako-san for the time he remained in Soul Society before the Hollowfication issue." She explained quietly.

She studied her for a second longer before quieting, smiling wryly. "A 'Vizard', huh? So that explains what happened with that blonde guy, Hirako-san…"

"No, Yuzu; Ichi-nii needs to rest right now!"

"But Karin…!"

Both women blinked and the shorter of the two straightened from sitting against his dresser to open the door and see twin sets of brown eyes staring at her, one with a plea and the other with concern.

Her eyes softened as she instantly noticed that these two girls must be his little sisters.

"Uh, um… is it okay if I eat in there?" The twin with the blondish hair asked shyly of the two women.

Kita and Rukia shared a look before smiling, nodding; "Yes, I'm sure he'd like that." Rukia obliged gently. Kita spared the redhead a final smile before meeting his sisters' eyes, noting the black-haired one kept glancing up at her; she smiled warmly. "C'mon, Rukia," she ushered the shorter Kuchiki out of the room before they both slipped away and soon were on the way to the shop.

"How exactly does Kiba-san know about the Vizards and all that, exactly?" She asked curiously when they were within sight of Urahara's shop.

She glanced up at the clear night and rubbed her neck. "He was the fourth seat in the Tenth Division even then, a century ago, and sometimes he'd go drink with Kisuke-san; dunno how he really became acquaintances with Hirako Shinji, but I never really asked him that myself." She explained thoughtfully.

Rukia nodded and glanced at the bag she'd kept on her elbow, quirking a brow. "I forgot to ask, what exactly is in that bag you have?" She asked, perking her ears.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot! I figured you were fretting over Ichigo earlier so I bought some cucumbers and a couple of rice balls from the store. Yoruichi lent me some money." Kita answered, reaching inside the bag and pulling out a small container with sliced cucumbers, handing the container to her friend.

She blinked and then smiled at her thoughtfulness, nodding. "Thanks, Kita. Though I wasn't fretting over him, I was just concerned." She defended calmly, opening the container and plopping a slice into her mouth.

She finished unwrapping one of the rice balls and rolled her eyes. "Rukia, I know you worry over him. But then again, he's got to have some sort of female stability in his life, and you've known him longest out of any of us." She caught the flustered blush coloring her pale cheeks, smirking knowingly. "Deny it all you want, but I know you like him; a woman knows." She hummed, bouncing ahead of her to the shop's back porch, toeing off her sneakers and sliding the door open.

"D-don't be so cocky! Just because you've liked Onii-sama all this time doesn't make you an expert on love!" Rukia exclaimed indignantly, quickly following suit and hurrying after her, a vein twitching on her brow.

Kita munched calmly on her half-finished snack. "Well no, you're not far off the mark; but I saw how he looked at you the first night the Arrancars ambushed us when things were calmed and we were recovering from our injuries. It's not one-sided, that's all I know." She turned slightly, just short of heading to the underground training room, blue meeting violet; her gaze softened sympathetically. "Take it from me, acknowledge it now or you'll lose him forever, Rukia." _You're not the only girl who loves him_, she inwardly added, thinking back to the auburn-haired Inoue; she placed the second rice ball in her container with the cucumbers and smiled slightly, turning to open the hatch and climb down to the training room.

Rukia stared at where she'd been standing, her words ringing in her head; she looked down at the rice ball amidst the green cucumber slices and scoffed under her breath, following her friend down the hatch.

* * *

"… Her fate is uncertain. The two guards that escorted her through the senkaimon returned alive; according to them, Inoue Orihime was abducted by an Arrancar and possibly killed."

He paled slightly; her lowered blue eyes glanced up when he spat out the last word uttered by the Thirteenth Division captain on the opposite line.  
"Ukitake-Taichō!" The shorter woman exclaimed in horror.

He scowled slightly at the news, "the Arrancar wouldn't have slain her on a whim, not if Aizen ordered him to abduct her. It doesn't make sense." He said grimly.

"We don't know anything for sure; all we know is that an Arrancar appeared and she disappeared with him…"

"Inoue's not dead, no way; you don't know what you're talking about! Look at my wrist," the livid redhead exclaimed, raising his once-bandaged forearm for the captain to see; her eyes registered on his healed wrist in slight surprise.

She lowered her gaze, a furrow forming on her brow; _Ushōda-san's kidō couldn't have healed his wrist that quickly, and neither Rukia or I touched him before we left his sisters with him… Did she come back? And if so, why the hell didn't we sense her _reiatsu_? What did Aizen do to Inoue?_

"…Had she been abducted, she would not have been allowed to visit you. In other words, if Inoue-san healed you and disappeared, then she must've joined the Arrancars of her own free will." The Captain-General's words shook her out of her thoughts; her eyes sharpened slightly.

"No!"

"Ichigo, enough!" Kita snarled, meeting his dumbstruck brown eyes with a hard scowl that eerily matched her captain's; she stared him down pointedly, cutting her gaze away reluctantly to face the screen. "Head-Captain, it might be possible that she was threatened to go with the Arrancar. I doubt it was her loyalty that was compromised, instead her life or that of her friends and family. Aizen must've done something to her or given her something so none of us in this room could've sensed her _reiatsu_ before she disappeared… And besides, if the original hypothesis holds true, I'd imagine it was hard on her to join Aizen and his ilk." She declared calmly, ignoring the growled curse that came from the disgruntled strawberry, keeping her eyes on the people on the other side of the screen.

Renji regarded his fellow comrade with a small amount of respect for her deducing such a possibility, keeping a firm grip on the redhead's _shihakushō_. "We understand, Head-Captain Yamamoto; so I, as leader of the Hitsugaya Advance Team, will go to Hueco Mundo and open the eyes of the traitor Inoue Orihime!" He proclaimed, garnering the attention of the room's occupants.

"You will not." The wizened Sōtaichō declined gruffly, perking his ears as both he and Ichigo looked at him in shock. "Now that we know the Arrancars are battle-ready, the entire Hitsugaya Advance Team will immediately return to defend Soul Society."

Kiba scowled softly, "Sir, you mean to abandon Inoue-san?" He clarified.

"Exactly; she is only one girl, and we have the fate of worlds to consider." Yamamoto answered.

Rukia grimaced, her brow crinkling. "With all due respect, Head-Captain, I cannot obey that order."

"I suspected as much… Fortunately, I took precautions." A senkaimon appeared in the room then, making those gathered perk up alertly, as the most oddest couple stepped out of the gateway, taking the forms of Zaraki Kenpachi and Kuchiki Byakuya.

"B-Byakuya?" Kita blinked in surprise before realizing that it wasn't optional anyone present stay in the human world… It was _mandatory_ that they return to Soul Society... _Highly mandatory_.

The behemoth swordsman huffed, "You heard the Captain-General; come with us."

"It would be wise to not resist; we've been ordered to use force, if necessary." The stoic nobleman chimed, gray eyes lingering on the blue stare of his fiancé after glancing to both his future brother-in-law and his lieutenant, noting a sad glint began to show in her eyes, her pretty face.

"… Fine, I'm not asking Soul Society to help me, just tell me how to get to Hueco Mundo. Inoue is my friend… I'll save her all on my own." Ichigo spoke stubbornly, his brown eyes regarding the situation with a hard glint in his gaze.

"Ichigo," Rukia began softly.

Kita scowled, worry replacing the sadness, "Don't be stupid, Ichigo; Aizen knows you're gonna go save her, you'll be playing right into his filthy hands! Don't do this." She snapped, her hands forming into fists at her sides.

"Well even if I am, at least I give a damn about Inoue's life, Kita!" Ichigo shouted back, perking her ears.

She widened her eyes briefly before her gaze hardened and she snorted, looking away. "Fine, go on and save your weak damsel. Don't expect me to save your ass again if you die over there, Kurosaki Ichigo!" She shouted angrily, fighting the familiar sting of tears that began to hurt the back of her eyes, her fists shaking, stepping away to storm past her captain into the senkaimon.

Imoto_-chan_, her brother frowned after her wake, hazel eyes darkened.

Her shoulders shook softly.

::::::::x-x::::::::

"Kita wait." She tried to grab her wrist, snagging the sleeve of her shirt.

She glared at her, the bottom rims of her eyes puffy, before jerking her sleeve out of her grasp and continuing to storm away.

"Kita…" She began quietly, perking up when a hand was placed on her shoulder; she looked up at his brown eyes. "Renji."

"Leave her alone, Rukia; she needs time to cool off." The redhead advised quietly, inwardly grimacing at the hurt in the large violet eyes of his oldest friend.

Her brother frowned after his sister's wake, exhaling as he deemed his comrade's words correct, turning to follow his lover back to the Tenth Division's barracks; he turned as well to make the trek back to the Sixth, a reluctant Kuchiki woman following.

She sniffed and rubbed her nose gingerly, scowling at the clear sky from her seat on the back-porch of her family house, hugging her knees reflexively; she'd started crying as soon as she was a good several blocks away from the group, not caring if anyone tried to follow, not caring about how disgusting she looked with her runny nose and the tears falling from her eyes…

She just wished she could take back what she'd said to that idiot.

A plain white handkerchief appeared out of the corner of her eye; she glanced up at the cleaning cloth to the arm that offered it to her, meeting his gaze, his blank face.

"I must look ugly like this," she half-joked weakly, taking the handkerchief and wiping her eyes, sniffling and blowing her nose as he sat with her.

He smiled faintly and exhaled. "You never looked ugly, even with tears; not to me." He mused quietly.

She chuckled weakly and sniffed, placing the handkerchief away in her robes and smiling down at her knees. "Thank you for that." She said.

He nodded, raising a hand to brush locks of her black hair from her face, inwardly loathing that idiot for her tears, watching her hand clasp over his and hold it to her cheek, her blue eyes lifting to meet his gray.

Kita smiled softly, lowering his hand from her cheek and intertwining her fingers with his, letting him squeeze, leaning in to rest her cheek on his shoulder and release his hand, lowering her gaze.

Byakuya's gaze softened at her wordless gesture, sliding his arm around her shoulders and holding her close, letting the silence soak in.

"Byakuya?" She began quietly after what felt like hours later, stirring him as he mumbled for her to go on. "Am I wrong to have told him what I said?" She wondered.

He opened his gray eyes partly and then looked at the clear sky overhead. "You only warned him, not insulted him. Don't blame yourself if he gets himself killed, Kita…" He paused when he felt her shoulders shake slightly against him, his arm lowering to her back. "Kita…"

"But if he does die, it'll still be my fault! I know he's strong, he's a strong kid with one hell of a good heart, but I don't want to see him die by Aizen's hand. I don't want to see anyone die by that bastard's hand!" She croaked, burying her cheek into his sleeve and closing her eyes tight.

He quieted and let her cry, holding her to his side gently by his arm that had lowered to her waist, closing his eyes.  
_Stubborn, beautiful and foolish woman; don't you understand that I don't want you to die because of him, either?_

"What you lack in confidence in a battle's outcome you have in compassion for those you love… Even that foolish brat who's trying to save the world by himself." Byakuya mused quietly, feeling her stir slightly against him.

Kita blushed a little and then smiled privately, lifting her arms to encircle his neck. "I guess I worry too much… Sorry."

He smiled a tiny smile, his arm around her squeezing affectionately. "If you didn't worry then I probably wouldn't be sitting here with my arm around a beautiful and stubborn woman." He mused.

Her cheeks reddened and she puffed her cheeks out, slowly easing back to her normal self. "You've charmed me enough for two days' worth, Captain." She groused quietly.

He chuckled at hearing the reluctant defeat in her voice, resting his cheek on her head. "I'd like to rebut that with the fact that you didn't mention or inform me prior to pouncing on me the day you came to visit." He pointed out.

She grumbled something inaudible into his sleeve. "Piss off, I didn't hear you complaining, given you were trying to eat my face off." She retracted to pout childishly up at him, her cheeks burning at seeing the bemusement in his gray eyes.

He smirked thoughtfully. "I didn't hear anything past the pleas and moans you uttered, either, sweet." He saw her cheeks redden at the petname, finding he liked calling her that.

Kita looked away shyly, ignoring his smug gaze. "Y'just think you're so smart, ya friggin' cocky bastard…" She yelped when he pulled her to sit in his lap, blushing brightly. "B-Byakuya…!" She stammered, trying to squirm out of the position though failing when his arms around her tightened with each twitch, keeping her rooted to sitting on his calves with her legs spread unceremoniously.

"I don't have to delude myself into believing that when I have you in my arms, Kita." Byakuya said calmly as if he didn't have his fiancé in his lap for the second time within two days' time, a pleased grin beginning to form as he watched her face redden in that tomboyish manner of hers he loved most.  
_  
Okay, so maybe '__**cocky'**__ wasn't the right word to use_…

"D-don't grin like that, you jerk! And don't give me that crap, either, thinkin' you can charm me back into your bed so damn easily…!" She stammered, gasping when he went in for a kiss, silencing her resistant threats with a warm kiss, his arms around her squeezing.

He smirked again and raised a hand to curl his fingers in her hair at the back of her head, his free hand gliding down her spine, feeling her arch her back and groan, fingers tugging at her hair to coax her mouth to open and allow him entrance, demanding claim over what was his even as she retaliated and fought as stubbornly as possible.

Kita gasped his name and mewled when his hand at her back had lowered to stroke her right thigh, forcing herself away with a soft moan. "Y-you're impossible." She panted, squeaking when his fingers that had been in her hair dragged down her spine methodically, making her shiver and blush.

Byakuya smiled cheekily up at her, subconsciously-elated that they were alone, his hand returning to brush her wavy hair back gently. "I'm considered 'impossible' when trying to lighten your spirits, am I?" He wondered calmly, perking her ears.

"Is that what this was about…?" She trailed off and lowered her gaze, her cheeks reddening. "Byakuya…" _Stupid, stupid, stupid dumbass, why the hell didn't I see it as that? Idiot!_

He tipped her chin up, meeting her humble and embarrassed blue eyes warmly. "I told you before, remember? I don't want to make you cry. Not again…" He was cut off with her sudden kiss that had a taste of the sheer tenacity and laced with thin amounts of hunger behind her lips, surprising him; his hands found her hips again as he kissed back passionately, making her sigh and shiver in his arms, her smaller hands pushing against his chest to pull back, making him grumble in annoyance.

She chuckled softly at the pout forming on his lips, her blue eyes soft. "I love you, Byakuya." She smiled at the slight surprise in his gaze.

He quieted and smiled back, bumping foreheads with her and making her smile widen. "I love you, too, Kita." He returned her sudden kiss eagerly, hearing her chuckle again before she eased into his kisses once more and the spaces between them soon became nonexistent. 

* * *

**A/N**: mostly drama in this chap, folks. and yeaah Kita tends to be a bit of a drama queen, but what character ISN'T, y'know? anywho, things will pick up again soon, so sit tight.  
also, isn't Byakuya cute when he's sympathetic? _/dodges a Sōkatsui _


End file.
